A/N: Just a brief word, folks. I need to make a 'sort of' retraction to something I put in my answer to MasterLupin last week. I stated that Voldemort was aware Orion and Katlin were raising five children. Well, that's 'sort-of' true. But let me expand on that a little bit. Voldemort knows Orion has five children living in his house with him. He believes Orion to be their father. He sees Katlin's part in the situation as simply being the live-in lover of a man with five children. He has no idea of what her actual status in the household is.

For right now, that's all you need to know, because any embellishment past that will just confuse the heck out of you.

It only effects this chapter and will not be re-visited in the near future of this story.

Also, please see the note at the end of this chapter and the explanation for it in the author's notes at the top of Chapter Thirty-four Part B.

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 the one before this one.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR-PART A: KEEPING SECRETS

Katlin readjusted her hold on her daughter as she pulled her back, staring down the man in the doorway. "If you think you're winning any awards for timing this year, let me solemnly assure you, you aren't."

Orion sighed as he entered the room, closing the door behind him. "I suppose it's far too late to pull out my wand and pretend to be arresting you?" he ask.

Katlin shook her head at him. "Honestly! We did that one just last week. And there happens to be two children in the room right now in case you've forgotten."

"I'm not a child." Harry barely whispered as he followed the exchange.

Katy had managed to once more turn about in her mother's arms and reach for her father.

"Dadadadadada!" The three year old cried happily.

Orion sighed and reached for his daughter. "Here. Give her to me. She sounds as though she's been a handful tonight."

Handing the child over, Katlin gave a soft sigh of resignation. "Just missing you as usual."

Harry watched the whole scene with a wide-eyed expression. "Katy...," he said finally, staring up at his uncle, "is your daughter?"

Orion turned his attention back to the teenager. "That's right." He replied. "I did mention my family to you, Harry." He added, draping an affectionate arm over Katlin's shoulder. "But I don't believe I've had the opportunity to introduce you to my wife."

Harry's gaze slipped slowly back to the tall auburn-haired woman by the Unspeakable's side. "Wife?" He ask carefully.

Katlin nodded. "You knew I was married, Harry."

The teenager's gaze narrowed slightly. "But you never mentioned it was to my uncle."

"You didn't ask?" she offered helpfully.

"When you were in the Ministry jail...when I came to see you...you gave me your pendent...and you..."

"I ask you to give it to your godfather." Katlin finished for him. "Because I knew Sirius would give it to Orion."

"Why?" Harry ask, his tone lowering slightly.

Katlin sighed as she looked at her husband then back to the teenager before her. "The pendent is charmed, Harry. In fact, it has a lot of spells placed on it. One of them allows Orion to find me not matter where I am. It's like a reverse portkey. It'll bring him to me." She explained, but then shook her head. "I didn't want him finding out what had happened at the castle and then try coming to rescue me. Things could have gone very badly for him if he had gotten involved. But you did what I ask and I will always be grateful."

"So grateful you lied to me all this time?"

"Harry, you have to understand..." Katlin started to explain, but Orion cut her off.

"Harry, Katlin and I are in a very difficult situation with our marriage, all right? Very few people even know about it."

"Does Sirius know?"

Orion nodded.

"And Arabella?
Orion nodded again.

"Dumbledore?"

Again Orion nodded in response.

"And Voldemort."

Orion glanced quickly at his wife before facing Harry again. "No. And that's the reason things are so dangerous, Harry. Especially for Katlin."

"Why her?"

"Because, Harry," Orion explained, "if Voldemort found out about this marriage, there is little doubt that she would be punished."

Katlin stared back at him as he met her eyes. "Not punished." She corrected with a small shake of her head. "Killed, Harry. Voldemort would kill me if he knew."

"But you lied to me." Harry replied. "All these weeks you've been lying to me."

"Not because I wanted to, Harry." Katlin tried to reason with him. "But Orion and I have to be very careful about who knows."

"But Sirius knew."

"He's my brother, Harry." Orion pointed out. "How could I not tell him? And for your information, my parents know as well."

"And Arabella?"

"Arabella found out from Sirius. He told us he would tell her because he felt she should know."

"And what about Professor Dumbledore?"

"Dumbledore had a great deal to do with us being together, Harry. If anyone deserved to be told, it was him."

"And there is some benefit in it for you, Harry." Katlin offered up quickly with a hopeful smile. "Once Sirius adopts you, you'll have an even larger family. This time including cousins."

"And an aunt." he added, though from his tone Katlin couldn't tell if he thought the idea was a good one or not.

"A Elite Deatheater aunt." She amended for him, her smile quickly fading. "Maybe not such a good deal after all, hey?" She added in a lower tone. Turning back to Orion she held out her arms for her daughter. "Maybe I should just take Katy home, hmmm?"

Harry noted Katlin's change in demeanor. He hadn't wanted her to feel he would rather she weren't part of his expanding family. He simply hadn't liked that through everything they had gone through she hadn't trusted him enough to tell him the truth about her husband. It certainly would have simplified a great many situations. If she had told him in the Ministry jail, he could have gone right to Orion himself. He could have told him what had happened.

'And what would he have done?' a little voice nudged him. Exactly what Katlin had tried to avoid. He'd have tried to rescue her and likely gotten in worse trouble himself. Then everyone would likely have learned the truth. A Deatheater married to one of the Ministry's top Aurors. An Unspeakable to boot. The Daily Prophet would have eaten that up. And where would it have left Katlin and Orion? Their secret out, Voldemort would have learned the truth then as well.

Slowly, as the scenario built in his own mind, Harry began to better understand Katlin and Orion's need for secrecy. It wasn't a choice for them, it was a necessity. And it couldn't be an easy thing, not being able to share that part of their lives with anyone outside of the immediate family. To always have to be careful who you spoke to and who saw what.

Harry watched as Katlin took her daughter back from her husband, trying to quiet the crying child as she reached for her father again in angry protest of being taken away from him too soon.

"You said I had cousins now." Harry spoke up quickly.

Orion was the one who answered him. "Five of them. You've met your youngest cousin, Katy. You have Vincent, whose a bit of a bookworm. Justin, whose the twin of his older brother, trouble-wise. Then Lucy, the oldest girl, and finally, Thomas, said older-brother, who's, I believe, your own age, Harry."

"My age!?"

Orion gave a small smile to his wife as he watched the teenager's interest reach an all time high.

"With a strange fascination for bikes with engines attached to them." Orion pointed out.

"Motorcycles? He likes motorcycles too?"

Katlin watched the exchange. Well, at least Orion had managed to smooth some of the teenager's ruffled feathers. And had peaked his interest in his new cousins as well. Or at least in one of them. Thomas would be thrilled to have someone in the family close to his own age to hang around with.

The time seemed as good as any to make a quiet departure.

"I'll see you later." She said to her husband, pulling her daughter to her as she prepared to disapparate.

Harry quickly turned to her. "Katlin wait!"

Katlin turned the same sad expression to him as Katy took advantage of the delay and reached again for her father.

"She doesn't seem to happy to leave." He stated, pointing to the struggling child.

"Well, she's about to learn one of life's hard lessons then." Katlin replied. "We don't always get what we want." She added quietly.

Harry turned to the floor for a moment. "Look, I'm sorry I got mad at you. I understand why you had to keep things from me. When I thought about it, I could see how things could spread. Knowing the Ministry, they probably wouldn't even let you two stay married. Think it was bad for their image or something. And it wouldn't be long before Voldemort would find out and...well, kids need their Mums. I know I miss mine, even though I can hardly remember having one. So, I'm sorry. And I won't tell anyone. I swear."

The apology brought a small smile to the Elite's expression. "I know you won't, Harry." She replied. "But Orion and I have to be very careful. I still would never have chosen to tell you. You understand? You have so much else going on in your life right now, you could accidentally slip and say something to the wrong person."

"Well, then let Orion put a memory charm on me. That would make you safe again. I can't accidentally blurt out what I can't remember."

But Katlin shook her head. "It's a two way street, Harry." She said. "Orion and I know you know and we might be the ones to make a mistake, forgetting you don't remember. We could say the wrong thing in front of you, or do something in front of you, forgetting for a second you don't remember. It's better you know and we know you know. You'll just have to be extra careful. All right?"

Harry paused for a second, then nodded.

Orion turned his attention to his wife as a thought struck him. "What were you even doing here?"

Katlin turned back to him with an unconcerned look. "Oh. That." She lifted her daughter to her shoulder, patting the child's back as Katy wrapped her arms about her mother's neck. "Harry called me."

Orion turned a firm gaze to his nephew as he crossed his arms over his chest. "You called an Elite to your room? In the middle of the night? For what reason?"

Harry quickly turned to Katlin, seeking help.

"Harry needed to ask me a question." Katlin supplied quickly. "And he called me because I told him too. Stop interrogating the boy, Orion."

The Auror quickly refocused his stare on his wife. "You 'told' him too? You've been coming here without letting me know?"

"I can do some things on my own." She replied levelly.

"It was dangerous." Orion pointed out. "What if Voldemort had seen you?"

"I'd have thought of something." She replied. "Harry wanted to talk to me. And it was important."

Orion turned back to the teenager. "It had better have been."

Harry turned to Katlin, who in turn turned to her husband. "Harry had a few concerns about the journey he and Voldemort are going on." She supplied simply.

"What concerns?" The Unspeakable all but demanded.

Katlin again ran interference for the teenager, offering up an abbreviated version of the boy's concerns.

Orion listened to it all before sighing as he stared at her. "And I suppose you have already informed him he isn't, in fact, going to be exactly alone?"

Katlin shrugged. "He was worried, Orion. And it isn't like it was going to be a secret forever. I saw no harm in letting him know."

"I know that you're going with us." Harry confirmed. "But I have no idea how you're going to convince Voldemort to let you come."

The Unspeakable waved his concern aside. "You let me worry about that, Harry. You only have to do one thing on this journey. Lead us to this wizard. Anything else I'll be taking care of."

"Anything else?" Harry was pretty sure he didn't like the sound of 'anything else'.

"What?" Orion turned back to him. "Do you think this wizard is going to let us just walk up to him? As carefully as he guards himself, my bet would be that he is going to do everything in his power to stop us from reaching him. And once he knows you're leading us, I can pretty much promise you you're off his Christmas card list."

"What does that mean?"

The Unspeakable leaned down to the teenager's level. "What it means, Mr. Potter," Orion stated solemnly, "is that once we start this journey, it is very likely this wizard will be after you as well as Voldemort and me. From our side you couldn't be safer. I have no designs on your life, and Voldemort needs you alive right up to the end. But this wizard is not likely to take to kindly to his secretkeeper turning into a bloodhound for his enemies. So you keep your wits about you on this journey, Harry, Voldemort and I will be guarding you, but if things get messy, you could end up having to guard yourself. That was part of those lessons Voldemort was giving you. Teaching you to defend yourself if the need arises."

Harry turned to the floor, not saying anything as he thought things over.

Katlin shifted her daughter as she turned to him. "What is it, Harry?" She ask, sensing the teenager's unease.

"I just feel more and more like Voldemort's been orchestrating this from the start, Katlin." He answered. "First he stole Sirius' body, then he backed me into a corner to make me agree to help him find this wizard, and now he's got us all hanging by a string waiting on his whim as to when we leave. No matter who we think is going, what's to stop Voldemort from grabbing me in a back corridor and taking off without saying anything to anyone?"

"Well, several things," Katlin replied. "Mostly, now that Dumbledore is aware Voldemort is planning to leave sometime soon, I doubt you'll ever be allowed to be alone with him at any given time. And Voldemort doesn't have anyone hanging by a string. He has no more an idea when you'll be leaving as anyone else does."

Orion turned to his wife. "How do you know that?"

"For sure? I don't." She answered him. "But from everything Harry has told me before you arrived and from the way Voldemort's been acting, I don't believe he has any control over the time this journey starts. He's waiting for something, Orion. I don't know what it is, but something has to happen before he can start this journey." Katlin turned a kind smile back to Harry. "And as for Voldemort having all the control, Harry. Don't you believe it."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning the only reason Voldemort currently has the upper hand is that you have yet to exercise your own control over the situation."

Harry and Orion both looked up at her.

"Mine?" Harry ask. "What control do I have?"

"A great deal." Katlin replied with the same smile. "If I understand the spell correctly from what I've learned of it, you are the one who should be making the rules, Harry. Not Voldemort."

"Me?"

"What has Voldemort done up until now? He's gotten you to agree to help him. Connived, cajoled, and downright manipulated when necessary. But everything he's done had to first have you're approval. And have you ever questioned him about any of it? Challenged him? My guess would be 'no', or at least not seriously. You accepted, Harry. And you went along with whatever he said."

Orion stepped over to his wife. "How sure are you of this?"

"Fairly. I've been studying this spell myself for several weeks now."

"You never said anything about that!" Orion cut her of.

"Because you were doing so yourself." Katlin answered calmly. "I didn't want to distract you. Besides, with two of us looking at things from different angles, it was more likely we would find something. Especially if we didn't interfere with each other." Katlin turned back to Harry. "Harry, if you could change one thing about this journey, what would it be?"

"Going." The teenager answered quickly.

Katlin studied him for a few seconds. "Really?" She ask in solemn tone.

Harry thought about the question a lot longer the second time. Finally he shook his head. "No. I'd still go. This wizard is dangerous. Even Dumbledore thinks so. So he has to be stopped. If I could change anything, it would be in who was going."

"Who is going?" Orion ask.

Harry turned back to him. "I don't think just three of us going is such a good idea. Especially since you and Voldemort will be spending most of your time either watching out for this wizard, watching me, or watching each other."

Orion crossed his arms over his chest. "All right. So who else do you think should go?"

"Professor Lupin." Harry replied quickly.

Orion's stare narrowed considerably. "Lupin? Why?"

"Because Professor Lupin is the next best person at defense against dark magic after Voldemort. Professor Dumbledore has to stay here at the school in case something happens back here. Sirius is already going...sort of. The next person I would want to go is Professor Lupin."

"I think Professor Lupin would be a fine addition to the roster." Katlin put in before Orion could offer up his opinion of the boy's choice. "All right then, when it comes time to leave, Harry, tell Voldemort you want Professor Lupin to go with you. I'll wager you'll be surprised at the results to your request. Just don't back down. Make sure he understands you mean what you say."

Harry considered her words, then nodded.

Katy began to squirm again in her mother's arms and gave a small whimper.

"Ah, finally someone is getting tired." Katlin stated, turning to her daughter. "Are we tired, Love?" she cooed at the child.

Katy nodded slightly, leaning against her mother with her eyes half shut.

"All right, off to bed then." Katlin said, conjuring up a fire so she could take her daughter back to her room by the quickest route.

"Katlin," Harry stopped her again before she left.

Katlin turned back to him.

"Thanks for the advice." He said with a small smile. "I don't think it's a bad thing at all having you for an aunt." He added quickly.

Katlin gave him a warm smile. "Thank you, Harry. I appreciate that. But where Orion and I are concerned, just remember to be careful. We aren't together often in public. That's another part of the price we pay for our family's safety. But sometimes its inevitable we're in the same place at the same time."

"Just try not to stare when I do things like this." Orion added, suddenly grabbing his wife and pulling her into a one armed embrace as he leaned her back and kissed her, little Katy squealing in delight at the free ride.

Harry quickly slapped his hand over his eyes and moaned. "Man! You two are worse than Sirius and Arabella."

His uncle gave him a quick wink as Harry peeked out to see if the coast was clear.

"Bet on it." He advised.

Katlin righted herself and quickly gave her husband a disapproving look. "Honestly!" She huffed at him, then turned a more pleasant smile to Harry. "Just remember what I told you, Harry," Katlin advised before she apparated out of the room. "And there are two sides to every story. Keep that in mind."

(Please see Chapter Thirty-Four Part B for the continuation of this chapter.)