A/N: Just a brief note, folks. This week there was a death in the family of someone close to me. One of the other cantors at my church lost her long time friend, Ralph. Although Pricilla may look on the outside to some to be a fragile woman, I can say that, having seen what she has handled the last three days, and dealing with a loved one's death so close to the holidays, she has shown more strength than most I know. But still, remember her and her Ralph in a prayer.

And as always,

Enjoy.

Disclaimer: Go back and read the one before the one before the one before the one before the one before the one before the one before the one before this one.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE B: IT'S IN HIS KISS

If Arabella had thought a good night's sleep was going to help settle her mind, she couldn't have been more wrong. Especially since to have it do any good she would have had to have actually slept.

As it was her thoughts kept her up most of the night, chasing each other around in her head while questions simply led to more and more questions until she hardly felt as though she could think at all anymore.

By three in the morning she gave up any hope of sleep and made her way downstairs to the kitchen. A cup of hot milk with possibly a good shot of liquor might do the trick.

As she stood at the stove heating the milk a voice behind her took her so much by surprise she nearly screamed in fright.

"I know you like to cook, but this is taking it a little far, isn't it?"

Arabella stood with her hand over her rapidly beating heart as she mentally called the man ever name she could think of before answering him.

"Do you ever knock?"

"For what?" Voldemort ask, stepping into the kitchen. "To enter a room? I'd spend half my life knocking on doors."

"Then at least try making a little noise. I swear you're the quietest person I've ever met."

"Perhaps I should take to wearing a bell?" he ask, a faint trace of a smile on his lips.

Arabella took the pan off the stove and poured the hot milk into the mug she had set on the counter, forgoing the liquor. If she was forced to share her midnight snack with Voldemort, she felt it best not to fog her already hazy thoughts with alcohol.

"What are you even doing up?" She ask. "It's three in the morning."

"One might ask you that same question?"

Arabella took her mug and exited the kitchen, hoping the man would take a hint and leave her be.

She should have known better. Even as she made her way to one of the small parlors where she had hoped to enjoy her drink in peace, Voldemort followed along behind her.

Arabella sighed to herself as she took a seat on the sofa and used her wand to light a small fire in the fireplace. Well, Orion was right about a few things anyway. She was still an Auror, Voldemort was still...well,...Voldemort, and he did seem all to happy to talk with her. So once again she decided to put the time to good use. She couldn't sleep, so she might as well find out what more she could about what his plans were.

Carefully taking a sip from her mug, Arabella wrapped both hands about it as she settled it in her lap. "You said you and Harry would be leaving soon." she began, "Do you have a specific time?"

At first he didn't answer her. Instead he simply sat on the opposite end of the sofa studying her. It positively drove her nuts when he did this. For her it was the most un-nerving of all his habits. And she never failed to call him on it, putting an end to it as quickly as she could.

Turning to him she fixed her gaze on him. "Well?" She pushed.

Voldemort turned his gaze to the fire. "There is no set time." He answered finally. I was simply saying that we should begin planning for it. The longer we wait, the more time we are wasting."

"What more planning could you possibly need to do?"

"Actually," he answered, turning to her, "I only have one more loose end I need to tie up."

Arabella was pretty certain she did not like the smile that was slowly working it's way across the man's expression. "And what is that?"

"Do you remember our bet?" He ask.

"Our bet?"

"Yes. You bet me that Dumbledore wouldn't find my earlier...predicament...amusing."

Arabella gripped her mug a little tighter. She had always felt this particular bet was going to come back to haunt her one day. And she felt fairly certain today was the day. "I remember." She said quietly, trying to keep her voice steady.

"And I believe we agreed you lost that bet."

"I never said you won." She stated quickly. "I just wasn't going to argue the point with you anymore."

"The man leaned a bit closer to her. "Are you trying to renege on our wager, Arabella?"

"He didn't find it amusing." She defended, desperately trying to avoid the corner she felt herself all too expertly being maneuvered into.

"He smiled. That's as good as an all out laugh for Dumbledore."

Arabella decided she was as far into the corner as she wanted to be. Straightening up on the sofa, she met the man's stare with sheer determination. "All right." She stated. "I'll concede. I lost. What is it you want?"

Voldemort didn't even try to hide the triumph in his expression this time. "I believe at the time the bet was made, you said 'anything I wanted'." He reminded her.

"And you said it would involve only me." Arabella quickly tagged on. "So now that we've re-established the parameters , what is it you want?"

"A small thing, really." He said, his eyes never once leaving her, giving Arabella the almost irresistible urge to squirm.

"Then get on with it." She replied. "What is it you want?"

"When Harry and I leave on this journey...I want you to go with us."

For several seconds Arabella simply stared back at the man. "That's it?" She asked finally. "You want me to come along?"

Voldemort nodded.

"Why?" Arabella ask, sure that underneath what appeared to be a simple request and the answer to most of her unspoken prayers, there was a scheme brewing.

"Because I need someone who the boy responds to willingly." Voldemort explained. "I don't intend to spend this trip arguing every move with him."

"So what you need," Arabella translated, "is someone to talk Harry into doing what you want him to because you can't."

"I need the boy to follow orders. You have to admit that isn't exactly Harry's long suit."

Arabella folded her arms across her chest as she stared the man down. "You know what your problem with Harry is, Voldemort?" She stated. "It's that he isn't one of your compliant, spineless little Deatheaters. If you tell him to do something and he doesn't want to, he tells you 'no'. Not a word I'd wager you're too familiar with. And since he isn't a good little Deatheater, following you around like a brainless little pawn in your game, you have no real idea how to deal with him."

"The boy needs to learn discipline."

"The 'boy' is a teenager, Voldemort. They're notorious for not liking to do what adults tell them. And if you think having me along will be some miracle panacea for your problems handling a teenager, guess again. You've miscalculated on two points. One, Harry, for all else he may be, is a 'teenager', and there are times he will no more do what I tell him than you. Second, if you told Harry to do something I didn't think was in his best interest, I would not stand there and try talking him into it just because you wanted him to do it. I'd tell you to bugger off right along with my godson."

Voldemort gave her a small smile. "I have no doubt." He replied. "But back to the main point. You agree to come?"

Arabella considered the offer for a moment. "Under one condition," she replied, feeling like for the first time she actually held the winning card with the man.

Voldemort frowned. "What condition?"

"Let me ask Sirius what he thinks. And I swear I'll do what he says."

"We discussed this!" Voldemort stated, his voice coming up slightly in irritation. "The switch isn't something that is to be done lightly. There are..."

"...problems with it. I know that." Arabella pressed. "But I have rarely ask for it for myself, and I won't ask again unless it's absolutely necessary. But for just once I want to talk to Sirius. Without interference from anyone else around. And I told you, I'll do whatever he says." Arabella raised one eyebrow at the man before her. "Or are you afraid of what he will say?"

Voldemort frowned deeply at her suggestion. "I couldn't care less what Black thinks. Nor do I think you'll base your decision as much on his opinion as you say either." The man stared back at her in utter indignation for a few moments, then finally replied, "But you can consult him just the same. Just know the time is limited. Switching again so soon after the last time isn't recommended nor can it be held for very long. So get to the point quickly."

Arabella watched carefully as the change took place, making sure Voldemort didn't try to simply pretend he was Sirius to tell her what he wanted her to do. But the moment the eyes opened again and focused on her, her doubts faded as she fell into his arms.

"Sirius!" She cried happily.

Sirius wrapped his arms tightly about her, hugging her to him. "Shhhhh." He whispered to her. "It's all right, 'Bella. I'm here."

"I'm sorry." She cried into his shoulder. "I know it isn't safe for you. But I needed to see you again. I needed to look into your eyes and see you looking back at me just once more."

Sirius pulled her back. "Once more?" He questioned.

Arabella noted his confused expression. "He's leaving, Sirius." She explained. "Don't you know?"

Sirius shook his head. "Leaving where? When?"

"He told Harry and I tonight that he is planning to leave to find this wizard very soon. He didn't say when, he just said 'soon'. At first he just wanted Harry to go with him, but tonight he ask me to go with them."

"You? Why does Voldemort want you to go along?"

Arabella shrugged. "He said to help with Harry."

Sirius' confused expression deepened. "Help with Harry?"

Arabella smiled slightly. "I think Voldemort is having a little trouble dealing with the will of a teenager."

Sirius returned her smile with understanding.

"I told him I wanted to talk to you about it first. And I promised I'd do whatever you said. But Sirius, I can't let Harry go with him alone. Even if he hadn't ask me to come, I would never have let him take Harry off alone."

Sirius hugged her to him again. "I know, Love. And I would never ask you to. You go with them, and I'll help as much as I can. I won't let him hurt you or Harry."

Arabella wrapped her arms about him and held on to him as tightly as she could. "Can't you stay?" She pleaded. "Can't you fight him? Sirius, please. I need you here with me. I need you back."

Sirius wrapped her more securely in his arms as he lightly placed a kiss to her temple. "A little while longer, 'Bella." He promised. "Then this will be over and I'll be back with you and Harry."

Arabella shifted in his arms as she stared up at him. "Will you, Sirius?" She ask, voicing all the same fears Harry had earlier that evening. "Will Voldemort keep his promise? Will he let you go?"

"We'll face that when and if we have to, 'Bella." He replied softly, taking her back in his embrace as he rested his head over her's. "For now just let me hold you. Let me feel you in my arms again."

Arabella relaxed into his arms, sighing with a contentment she swore she hadn't felt in weeks. "How I've missed having you hold me." She sighed with a smile. "Just waking up late at night and finding myself laying in your arms. Knowing that everything was all right. You were there, we were all safe and we were together. I've missed that more than anything else."

"And you'll have it again." Sirius promised, taking her face and turning her towards him. "Some day you'll wake up in my arms again. And when you do it'll be as my wife. But until then you watch after Harry. You go with Voldemort and you make sure our godson is safe. And you always remember how much I love you."

Arabella melted into his kiss, returning it with all the love she felt for the man holding her.

Finally pulling back, Sirius brushed the tears off her cheeks as he summoned up a small smile for her. "Until then, try not to be so unhappy, my love."

Arabella managed to return his smile as he drew her back into a kiss, accepting happily as he deepened it, pulling her once again tightly into his arms as he stroked her back and arms.

Finding herself so lost in the kiss, Arabella almost didn't register the sudden feeling that nudged at her. She couldn't quite put her finger on what it was, but something in the kiss had changed. Pulling back abruptly, she stared at the man before her.

The eyes looking back at her were not Sirius' any longer.

With a solid shove, Arabella pushed away from the man holding her still. "Get away from me!" She all but screamed at him as she jumped up from the sofa.

Voldemort stared up at her with his usual indignation. "Why? What have I done? I let you speak to Black."

"How dare you!" Arabella all but hissed at the man, exercising every bit of resolve she had not to slap him. "That kiss...that wasn't...you...how dare you!!!" She finally ended her search for words with.

Voldemort stared up at her. "Honestly!" He shot back. "What difference does it make? No matter who it is, the body is the same."

"It makes a difference to me!" Arabella shot back in fury.

"Why?"

Arabella took a step back to assure herself he was out of striking range just for good measure. "I don't ever want you touching me." She stated in a low, deadly tone. "Do you understand me? Not ever again. What you did was reprehensible. You took advantage of a situation you had no part in. You haven't changed one bit." She added, pointing a finger at him. "You're just the same as you always were. What you can't have, you take. Well get this through that twisted little mind of yours, Tom Riddle. It isn't just a body to me. And it matters very much to me who is in control of it when I kiss those lips."

"Really?" Voldemort ask, his tone hardening as much as his expression. "And how, I wonder, will you feel after a few months? How well would you stand with your ideals if I never let Black go free? How long would your ideals last living with this 'body' day in and day out? Seeing him day after day? How long would it be before you realized it doesn't really matter to you who is behind a kiss? How long before you wouldn't care?"

Arabella stared at the man, letting his words sink in as the coldness of them wrapped around her. "Is that what you want?" She ask finally in a hollow, defeated tone. "Is that your price for his life?" Walking back over to him, Arabella forced herself to sit back down next to him, watching as she wrapped her hands around his face and willed herself not to stop. Not to turn away. Not to surrender. "Do you think for one second I wouldn't pay it? For him?" Arabella stared down at him, just inches from his lips. "And it does matter who is behind that kiss."

Arabella nearly fell off the sofa as the body beneath her wrenched back and away from her.

"No!"

Turning she saw the man standing over her. All the cold anger in his expression had been replaced by something far worse to her. A feeling that she doubted the man himself would ever admit to under any circumstance.

"I would never ask such a thing from you." He said in a quiet whisper, shaking his head as he took a step back. "I would never demand it, Arabella. And I would never want to be the one making you more unhappy than you are." Voldemort pulled himself up as he took another step back from her, seeming to try and drag what tattered shreds of dignity back around himself that he could. "I apologize." He offered her. "I did not mean to upset you. For now, I have several things I need to deal with at the liar before we leave. I'll defer to you to tell Harry the change in our plans. That you will be accompanying us as well."

Arabella sat clenching her teeth together to keep her mouth from falling open as the man turned and left the room.

Up in his room Harry lay under the covers for some time, listening for Arabella to come up and go to bed. Once he heard her door close he shot out of his bed and began rummaging through the top drawer of his dresser.

Finally finding what he wanted, Harry held the small colored stone in his hand.

"Katlin." He said to the empty room.

Within seconds a soft 'pop' echoed in the silence and before him stood the Elite Deatheater.

But much to his surprise, this time she wasn't alone.

Held in her arms, staring at the teenager with wide curious eyes, was a small child of about three.

"Bit late for you to be up, isn't it?" Katlin ask mildly, shifting the small child to one hip as she crossed the room.

"Who's that?" Harry ask, all but ignoring Katlin's question.

Katlin turned to him, then focused a smile on the child in her arms. "This?" She asked. "This, Harry, is my daughter, Katy. She wasn't having a very good night and so her mum was just trying to walk her to sleep. Isn't that right, my little love?" Katlin ask, her voice dropping off to a soft cooing as she cuddled the child.

"I didn't know you had a child." Harry pointed out.

Katlin turned a smile to him. "I don't." She replied.

Harry frowned at the statement. "But you just said Katy was your daughter."

"And you said you didn't know I had a child."

Harry frowned deeper.

"Too late for semantics?" Katlin ask with a pleased smile. "The point is, Harry, I don't have 'a' child. I have five."

Harry's mouth fell open. "Five?!"

Katlin held up a hand and ticked off five fingers in a row. "Thomas, Lucy, Justin, Vincent, and Katy."

Harry smiled as the child slapped her mother playfully on the nose, a delighted giggle following the face Katlin pulled.

"She's really cute, Katlin." Harry said as the child squealed happily as her mother cuddled her in her arms.

"And as any proud mother, I'm glad you think so." Katlin replied. "But you haven't answered the original question that I recall. Isn't this a bit late for you to be up?"

"I was waiting for Arabella to go to bed."

Katlin raised an eyebrow. "Why? Planning on running away? And don't look at me to harbor you if you are." She warned, shifting the child to her other hip. "I already have a house full. You come, you come as a live-in babysitter."

Harry gave her a faint smile. "No. I'm not running away."

"Too bad. Could have used the help." Katlin lamented. "So, if you're not running away, then what is the reason then for this little late night call?"

Harry sat down on his bed. "Well, first off, I am sorry for calling you so late. If I knew you had kids, I would never have called you. And I had to wait so late because I did want to risk Arabella walking into my room while you were here, since you're always telling me how much you and Arabella don't get along."

Katlin walked over to stand in front of the teenager. "You get points for courtesy and intelligence, Harry." She stated, staring down at him. "But your still missing the bonus answer. 'Why' did you call?"

Harry sighed quietly. "At dinner tonight Voldemort said that we would be leaving soon to go find this wizard."

"Really?" Katlin ask in what sounded like a mildly uninterested voice. One she hoped mask her concern at the information she'd just been so innocently given. She had hoped Orion would have a few more weeks perhaps to recover more of his strength before leaving with Harry and Voldemort. But apparently that wasn't going to be the case. "Did he say exactly when?"

Harry shook his head. "He just said soon."

"So what's the problem? Change you're mind about going?"

Harry shook his head again. "No. I agree that we have to find this wizard. That he has to be stopped from killing people. In a lot of ways, I think he's even more dangerous than Voldemort."

"But there is some problem?"

This time Harry nodded. "Katlin, it's going to be just Voldemort and me going after this wizard."

"Worried about the odds?"

"No. The company."

"Company?" Katlin questioned. "You mean Voldemort?"

Harry turned to look at her. "Katlin, Voldemort has tried to kill me several times already. Now it's going to be just him and me on this journey. What's to stop him from trying again?"

Katlin knew the teenager's concern was a valid one. One she and Orion had discussed on more than one occasion while trying to think of how to keep Harry safe during the journey. And she relied on some of those points to try and waylay his fears now. "Well, for one, Harry, Voldemort needs you to find this wizard. Without you, he doesn't stand a chance. So, you're sort of his golden goose at the moment, you see?"

"And once he's found the wizard?" Harry ask.

Katlin sighed quietly to herself. Leave to this boy to go right to the main problem. Once Voldemort was done with him, what was to stop him from harming the boy?

"Keep in mind that your godfather still has a great deal of influence where Voldemort's actions are concerned, Harry. I don't think he'll sit idly by while Voldemort kills you."

"But what if he can't stop him? What if Voldemort's just been leading us on to how much influence Sirius really has? What if...?"

Katlin slapped a hand over Harry's mouth. "You're playing that game again, Harry." she stated. "And I already told you, it's a pointless one at best. What if, what if, what if. It just chases itself around in a circle. Concentrate on the facts."

"Like what?"

Katlin studied the teenager for a moment as Katy shifted restlessly in her mother's arms. Katlin hated the dismal look on the boy's face, and knew all too well she had the ability to wipe out all his concerns with one crucial piece of information. "Harry," she finally said softly, "what if I told you you weren't going to go alone?"

Harry looked up at her. "What do you mean?"

"Just that. You and Voldemort are not the only two people going on this journey. Not anymore."

Harry considered her statement for a moment, then frowned. "We're the only two he's ever mentioned. Who else is going?"

"Orion Black."

"Orion?!" Harry sat up straighter on the bed. "But Voldemort never said..."

Katlin quickly silenced him by holding up a finger. "Because he doesn't know yet." She explained. "And I'd appreciate you keeping it that way. Black will handle telling Voldemort in his own way. All I'm doing is trying to assuage some of you're worries. But I know for a fact that the Ministry is no more thrilled with the idea of you going off with Voldemort alone than you are. So they have assigned Orion Black to go with you to make sure you get back in one piece. And trust me, there is no one better suited for the job than he is."

Harry sighed and slumped back down on the bed. "Well, that definitely makes things look a little better."

Katlin studied the boy for a moment. "Then you should try and look it." She advised. "What else is the matter?"

Harry looked up at her. "Voldemort let me talk to Sirius tonight." He told her. "And Sirius said Arabella and I should try being nicer to Voldemort. That it helps him retain some control if Voldemort isn't...upset."

"Sounds reasonable." the Elite agreed.

Harry frowned slightly. "Katlin, being nice to him isn't always easy."

Katlin smiled down at him. "There are times I'll go along with that."

"It's not always hard. I mean, there are times when he's more Sirius than Voldemort. But some days he's...just Voldemort. There's no trace of Sirius anywhere in him. So how am I suppose to deal with being with him every day? At least here I can get away from him mostly. What am I suppose to do when it's just me, him, and Orion?"

"You'll just have to try, Harry." She advised. "Sirius wouldn't have ask you to do it if it wasn't important, right?"

"But Sirius isn't the one having to be nice to him."

Katlin sighed as she looked down at him. "Look, Harry, I know it isn't much help, but think of it this way. Everyone has something in them we don't like. Something we wish we could change about them. But we can't change people to suit our personal likes and dislikes. Sometimes you just have to take the bad to get the good."

"But how do you do that with someone like Voldemort? Sometimes all I can think about is all the things he's done."

"I never said it was easy." Katlin pointed out. "But look, you accept me as your friend, don't you?"

Harry nodded.

"Both my good points and what you perceive as my bad ones?"

"But that's different." Harry replied. "You're..."

"A Deatheater, Harry." Katlin finished for him. "Plain and simple. I've done things I am sure you wouldn't approve of. Some that would likely even horrify you. I'm Voldemort's second-in-command. How much different from him can I really be, hmmmm? But you accept me. Without a question, but having a pretty good idea what my past is like."

"But you're not like the other Deatheaters." Harry pointed out. "And Dumbledore likes you, so you can't be all bad."

"What I am, Harry," Katlin replied in a flat tone, "is a Deatheater. And Albus Dumbledore's reasons for accepting me are his own. I stopped trying to figure that old man out ages ago. Now, I'm not the same woman I was years ago, that much is true. But Voldemort isn't the man he was a few short weeks ago either. You have to agree to that much."

Harry paused before slowly nodding.

"So take the good with the bad, Harry. For Sirius' sake, try to work with Voldemort. If for no other reason than that this wizard is a very dangerous person, and Voldemort is the only person who stands a very good chance of being able to stop him. And you're just 'what if' ing about how this will all wash out in the end. You have no real idea what Voldemort is going to do. So my advice is to let Orion Black worry about that. You just concentrate on finding this wizard, and let Voldemort handle him when you do."

Harry sighed but nodded. "I suppose you're right. And at least Orion will be there. So it's pretty unlikely Voldemort will try anything with an Unspeakable being there."

"Hardly likely." Katlin agreed. "And now, if that was all, Harry, I have..."

But that was as far as Katlin got. Without warning the door behind her opened and Orion stepped into the room.

For five silent seconds, two adults and one teenager all stared at each other in stunned shock. Which was finally broken by the happy exclamation of a three year old child who squirmed about in her mother's hold and reached out two tiny arms in the direction of the man in the doorway with one loud, happy cry.

"Da!"

Q&A

FAMILY RELATIONS

MasterLupin:

Voldermort is on to how people are treating him, and I think he will let them think that it works. I also think his less evil demeanor is an act and that in the end he would like nothing less then Harry's head on a silver plater with a small side salad, by any means posible. I belive that Voldermort's plan goes on to have Harry take a fall during the inevitable confrontation with the wizard in the north. As two birds with one stone is defently in Voldermorts ways. Maybe he will ask Katlin to do it, and if she refuses he'll kill her, or her famliy. As I think that Voldermort has to many sources of knowledge to not be aware of her personal life. As a smart comander keeps his friends under opservation. He also has the ablity to readminds. Have a nice Holiday if you don't post again before then.

Well, Dear, those are some interesting theories. And with some of them, only time and future chapters will tell. However, I will say this; not all of what you see with Voldemort is an act. The point of this story is trying to separate what is and what isn't. As the story progresses, his personality will settle down and become more stable. But right now it is still on an extremely uneven keel. What's holding him together right now is, in fact, Sirius. Without Sirius' influence, it is very unlikely at this point that Voldemort would even be functioning. So he is a lot more beholden to Sirius than he realizes right now.

Will Voldemort attempt to let Harry have an 'unfortunate accident' during the confrontation with the wizard in the North? As I always say, how can I answer that without making the story redundant? But remember, Voldemort is not just making things up as he goes along here. He has a plan. And the most ingenious part of his plan is that almost no matter what is thrown at him, he can adjust his plan to fit it. I will tell you this, though, because there was no way for you to know as that the story hasn't been posted yet; Voldemort has already seen the results of trying to come between his Elite and her children. And it wasn't pretty.

Voldemort may have a great many sources for information, Dear, but he has to utilize them to make any use of them. And currently, he has no reason to question Katlin. He knows she is living with the Auror, Orion Black. He knows she plays him for secrets, and he knows Black appears to be utterly smitten with her. He also knows that they are currently raising five children. What he isn't privy to is that his Elite and Black are actually married. A fact very few people know.

Ummmm..., I'm going to assume the mind-reading thing came out after Book V, which is where I stopped reading. So PAR has no idea what other wonderful little talents Rowling has since bestowed on her characters. As such, you can safely assume that in this story, he can not.

Happy Holidays to you too, Dear.

CelticHeiressFiona:

Thank you, Dear.

Skahducky:

It was nice to see Sirius' side of things. Being nicer to Voldemort will definitely help Harry out when they go on that journey, especially if it means Sirius has more of an influence in Voldemort's demeanor. I think being nice to Voldemort will be harder for Arabella now that she knows why Voldemort spends so much time with her, but I imagine she's not going to have to deal with him for much longer since Voldemort, Orion, and Harry will be leaving soon. Please update soon!

Well, as I said in MasterLupin's answer, Sirius isn't just in the background doing nothing. He is currently the glue holding everything together between he and Voldemort and allowing them to function as one, stable person. Without him, Voldemort wouldn't be worth very much right now.

How hard will it be for Arabella to be nice to Voldemort? Once again, I refer you back to MasterLupin's answer. Voldemort's personality right now is fairly...shiftable, shall we say. But as the story progresses, the personality begins to solidify and become more stable. So what you see is pretty much what you get.

FEVER

Table42:

Hello! You really should write a sequel for this story. I love it. Please do! I do want to know whether Harry will go to Orion for the next summer hols and if the ministry accepts the name Harry James Potter Black.

Dear, I don't remember if I answered you way back when or not, but if I didn't, and you are reading this story, know that this is 'sort-of' the sequel to Fever in that it incorporates some of the plot lines laid out in that story. But there was never an outright sequel to Fever. Sorry.

helbaffy:

Thank you, Dear.

abyssgirl:

Wow! This is one of the first 'General' stories that I've come across on this site that was really good! You're so lucky to be gifted.
Um, sorry if you think that this review is a few years late but I just found it now while I was browsing through some profiles.
Lastly, is there a sequel to this? I checked your profile page but as I only read the summaries, I couldn't tell.

Sorry if I've been an idiot who should've actually read the stories. Keep up the good work!

You're far from an idiot, Dear. First off, you read a story, liked it, and had enough sense to seek out the author page to see if there were anymore. Trust me, that's a bit ahead of some.

Now, as to the story, Fever does not have an official sequel, but Family Relations does borrow some of the concepts and plot lines laid down in that story. So it can make for a decent read if you liked Fever.

Ode To Harry Potter Summaries

knightsbridge:

Re: Ode to Summaries:
The best (or most annoying, take your choice) are the one-shots that have a summary longer than the chapter...i.e., story will go from before Hogwarts, through the final battle, and beyond. IN ONE CHAPTER STORY?
Annoying to the max: Harry/Snape; Harry anyone Slash. I realse there are those who (yuck) enjoy this type of story, at LEAST warn the rest of us! Harry has so few things, I should think his arse would remain his! To those who don't put a "slash warning", may I present "The Greasy Git Award"

Indeed, Dear. Welcome to the whole reason I wrote that little bit of verse. (That, and I was bored.)

I fully agree, however, that slash should be fairly well marked. But lets give a round of applause for at least withdrawing the NC17 rated category. Those were getting just down-right sick.

All reviews are as of 12/24/2006.

And remember;

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Holidays, or whatever you may be celebrating this time of the year. May it be a peaceful time for you and yours.