A/N: What can I say? Folks, it's been a cy week. My plans to audition for X-Factor got shot down, I gained ten pounds over the holidays, and my boss has more work lined up for me than five people could do in a month, all to be completed by the end of this one. So, happy?

Not really.

But, with that said, I will point out that I am still breathing, I can always loose weight, and I plan to audition for America's Got Talent instead. So, wish me luck.

Oh, and my girlfriends can dish out more sympathy than ten Jewish grandmothers together. Let's hear it for the female support system!

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 the one before the one before this one.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE PART A: THE JOURNEY BEGINS

Finding Bo, for anyone else, usually amounted to a day-long game of hide-and-seek. One of the boggart's favorite, with his own variations on the theme thrown in for good measure.

But for Orion or his father, it was simply a matter of calling him.

By the time Katlin entered the kitchen, Orion was already seated at the table with Bo sitting in the chair opposite him, leaned over as he studied his channeler intently.

"Now pay attention, Bo." Orion was saying. "This is important."
But the minute Katlin entered the kitchen the boggart's attention shifted to her as though Orion wasn't even there. In an instant he was out of the chair and flittering about her, waving his arms and gesturing madly at her. All of which Katlin smiled at and nodded occasionally as she followed the excited ramblings of his gestures.

"Yes, yes." She said as Bo danced about her. "It's all very exciting. But don't you think you should be listening to what Orion is trying to tell you?"

Trying to explain the seriousness of the situation to Bo Orion had quickly found was like trying to convince a three year old that a trip to the local fair was a dangerous thing. Bo was simply too excited to care. All he focused on was that he was getting to go on a trip. That meant leaving the house with Orion. His absolutely most favorite thing in the world to do.

After several more seconds of being deluged by the boggart's overly excited gesturing, Katlin finally put a stop to it the way she always did when Bo simply got too wound up over something.

"Bo," she stated in a calm but firm voice, "it is all very exciting. But if you do not go and listen to what Orion is trying to tell you, there will be no 'trip'. Do you understand?"

The boggart's gesturing stopped almost immediately. In fact, he was back in the chair facing Orion so fast one hardly saw him move.

"I wish you wouldn't do that." Orion commented to his wife.

"What? Make him behave?"

"Treat him like a big, silly kid."

Katlin smiled at him. "Why not? Half the time, that's what he's acting like."

"Yes. But he's adaptable. And currently I need him to act more like a boggart."

"Adaptable?"

Orion nodded. "He's whatever the family needs him to be. For Thomas, he's a teacher, for Lucy, he's an ear to bend, for Justin, he's an accomplice, for Vince, he's a fountain of information, and to Katy's he's a 100 times better than a dog. But right now, I need my boggart."

Orion turned back to Bo, who promptly reached out and patted the man on the head.

Orion sighed to himself. "All right," he stated, "let's go over this again. And this time you pay attention. No fooling around."

By the time Orion was finished an hour later he felt fairly certain Bo understood the seriousness of the situation. He had explained everything out to him and then quizzed the boggart on what he had been told. All of which Bo answered without hesitation. All amid no less than three major interruptions. One when Katlin offered her husband a cup of coffee, another when Katy had started crying for her mother, and a third when a small fly had landed on the opposite wall.

Orion sometimes swore the boggart seemed to have the same general attention span of said fly. But he knew closer to the truth was that Bo simply was fascinated by everything that went on around him. Having lived for so long as a non-corporeal parasite to his host, having his own body was still something of a novelty for him.

But it made holding his attention a serious challenge sometimes. Especially if, magic forbid, he was excited.

(--------------------------------)

The next morning Orion seriously wished he had gotten more sleep the night before. Within fifteen minutes of getting up, he found himself being summoned to Hogwart's, along with Arabella and Harry.

Once in the Headmaster's office, Orion was somewhat surprised to find Voldemort already sitting in one of the chairs, looking more impatient than ever.

Orion took the chair closest to Voldemort, leaving the other two for Harry and Arabella. As that there were only three other chairs set out, Orion assumed that everyone else who was to be present had arrived. A fact that Dumbledore seemed to confirm since as soon as Arabella was seated he began to address them.

"I'm sorry for the short notice of this meeting." The Headmaster said. "But it appears the time for your departure is finally here."

Arabella pulled up slightly in her chair. "What? Today?" She asked quickly.

Voldemort leaned forward slightly in his own chair as he turned to her. "Not 'today'." He answered. "Now."

Orion stopped her before she could go any further. "What do you mean, 'now'. What is so important about right now?"

"If you will step outside, Mr. Black, you'll see."

Moving out to the castle's lawn, Orion looked over the area around the castle, doing a full 360 degree turn as he tried to find any changes. But as far as he could tell, the general lawn area, the lake, the forest, the gates, and even the castle itself were all just as before. He took another quick, but careful, survey of the area before turning back to Voldemort.

"Enlighten me." He said. "Because as far as I can tell, not so much as a blade of grass has changed significantly."

Voldemort gave him a small, condescending smile. "And what did you expect, Mr. Black?" the dark wizard ask. "A sign in the heavens?"

"Since you seem less than willing to share what you know, I really don't have any idea of what to look for, do I?"

Voldemort sighed quietly as he looked around the area. "Nothing so grand as what you're thinking, Mr. Black, I assure you." Voldemort turned his attention to Harry. "What do you feel?" He ask the teenager.

Harry hadn't said so much as a word since arriving at Hogwart's. His own attention had been distracted by a feeling that had settled on him as soon as the portkey had dropped them on the front lawn only a short while ago.

"It's like I'm being pulled somewhere." Harry answered, looking off towards the forest. "Like I'm suppose to be going somewhere."

Voldemort turned back to Orion. "The pull Harry feels is from the spell placed on him as the wizard's secretkeeper."

"Why hasn't he felt this before?"

"Because he wasn't able to." Voldemort answered in a tone that suggested those few words should be all that was necessary to answer the question.

"You give 'vague' a whole new meaning." Orion replied in an irritated tone. "Would you care to expand on that for those of us not privy to all your information?"

Voldemort sighed as he looked around, then settled his gaze back on the younger wizard. "Harry is the wizard's secretkeeper, although he had no knowledge of that until he was told. It was the ultimate protection the man could have devised. Having a secretkeeper who didn't know he was one. However, he couldn't get around everything a secretkeeper is. One point being that Harry has within himself the latent ability to find this wizard. All that was necessary was to find a way to tap into it."

"And that was?"

"A spell, similar to a four point spell, placed on the secretkeeper, turns them into a sort of homing beacon."

Arabella immediately turned to face the man. "You placed a spell on Harry? Without telling anyone?"

"Time was limited." Voldemort explained.

Arabella wasn't buying that one bit. "'Oh, by the way, I need to place a spell on your godson'. That took what? All of five seconds?"

Voldemort frowned at her. "Knowing you, my dear woman, it would have turned into an hour long argument. This way, it is done matter and we can move forward."

"I thought you had said we were waiting for something to happen?" Orion put in. "Or was that all just cover for you until you finished this spell?"

"What we were waiting for, Mr. Black," Voldemort replied, "was for the spell to be finished. And I wasn't the one originating that."

Arabella pulled the man around to face her. "Someone else placed this spell on my godson?" She seethed at him.

Voldemort pulled free of her grasp with no great ease. "Of course not. The spell was worked on by one of my Deatheaters. One of my Elite Deatheaters, if it makes you feel any better."

"Peachy." Arabella replied in a solid tone from between her teeth.

"We needed to wait until he finished it. Nothing could be done until the spell was in place. Without it, Harry would have no idea how to proceed. As it is, nothing in this world could stop Harry from finding this wizard now." Voldemort turned back to the teenager standing next to him. "All right, Harry," Voldemort instructed him, "all you have to do is allow the spell to draw you. Just tell us where you feel we should go."

If Voldemort had expected Harry to take off like a bloodhound on a scent, he was seriously disappointed.

Instead of heading off in any direction Harry simply stood staring back at the older wizard.

"Well?" Voldemort asked finally.

Harry studied the man for a moment. "We're not leaving yet." He stated finally.

Voldemort's eyebrows drew together in a frown. "What do you mean? Why not?"

"Because we're not all here." Harry replied.

Voldemort considered the information. "Well, Mr. Black's problems with his mental state are his own. Now I suggest you get on with it. Which direction?"

"If we're leaving," Harry reiterated, "Professor Lupin needs to be here."

Voldemort's eyebrows flew back up. "The werewolf? Harry, we don't need a send off party. Now, just let the spell draw you in the correct direction."

Harry stood his ground. "Professor Lupin isn't a send off party. He's going with us." Harry announced.

Voldemort stood in absolute silence for several seconds before folding his arms across his chest. "Remus Lupin is not going on this journey, Harry." He stated firmly. "Now get on with your work."

The teenager remained where he was. "Then neither am I."

Orion felt sure that his brother had his hands full holding the older wizard in check at that moment.

"What do you mean, 'neither are you?'" He stated, his face turning a bright red color as he glared down at the boy. "What nonsense is this!?"

Harry had prepared himself to face anything he could think Voldemort could throw at him. And the top of his list was the man doing exactly what he was doing. Getting angry.

Voldemort hated his plans being upset. Especially when there was nothing he could do about it. And if Katlin was right, there was absolutely not one thing he could do to force Harry in this matter. And Harry hoped with everything in him that she was very right.

"If Professor Lupin doesn't go with us, then we're not leaving." Harry replied, staring down the older wizard. "I won't lead you anywhere if he doesn't come with us."

"You are pressing my patients." The voice answering him was as cold as Harry ever remembered it being.

Orion quickly placed himself between Voldemort and Harry. "Harry has made his position clear enough." He stated. "What's your answer?"

Voldemort lifted his eyes to meet the Unspeakable's stare. For several silent moments he simply stared at the man. "Fine." He finally answered in a short, heated tone. "But if the werewolf comes so does the woman."

Orion wondered when Voldemort was going to get to that. Just the same, he only turned to Harry, but said nothing.

"Well, Mr. Potter?" Voldemort stated, glaring down at the boy. "Those are my terms. The werewolf goes, so does your godmother."

Before Harry could answer, Arabella stepped in front of him. "It's all right, Harry." She stated, her eyes pleading with him to agree with Voldemort's demand. "It's better if I go, yes? We can both look out after each other." She added with a slight nod to him.

Harry looked up at her for a few seconds, then turned to Orion, who also gave him a short nod of agreement. Finally the teenager turned to the older wizard. "All right." He stated. "Professor Lupin and Arabella go with us." A small smile crept across his lips. "But Orion has to go too."

Much to Harry's surprise, not only didn't the dark wizard flare up in his anger again, he hardly made any move at all. But a deceptively calm voice asked him, "And the need for Mr. Black's presence would be...?"

Harry only smiled up at the man. "To look after Arabella, who you've insisted comes with us."

Orion smiled at the boy's reasoning. Voldemort adding Arabella to the list was an unexpected complication, but not one he couldn't deal with. An accomplished Auror herself, he felt he would hardly have to worry about dividing his time between protecting Harry and her. Arabella would, in fact, be a valuable asset in that area, allowing him more time to keep a closer watch on Voldemort, knowing Harry was also being watched over by her.

Orion smiled slightly at the thought, wondering if Voldemort had considered Arabella's status when he insisted she go along.

Slowly he turned his stare back to the dark wizard. "Well?" He ask in a slow, calm voice.

The older man met his stare again. "Fine." He replied through clinched teeth. "What do I care how many of his friends the boy wants to see get killed? It makes no difference to me."

A half hour later they stood again on the castle lawn, this time with Lupin standing next to Arabella, having had her explain the change of plans to him.

"All right, Harry." Voldemort began again. "What direction?"

Harry didn't miss for one second the change in the man's attitude towards him. He found it, in fact, somewhat amusing. Voldemort was acting exactly like what Katlin's information had suggested he would. Like a spoilt child who hadn't gotten his way, and now he was, for all intents and purposes, sulking.

Harry looked around them, sensing where the draw was coming from the strongest. Finally he pointed in one direction. "There." He stated. "I feel the draw coming from there."

The group turned as Harry directed their attention towards the forest behind the castle.

Orion didn't like the idea of the group having to start their journey with a trip through the forbidden forest. "Why aren't we taking brooms?" He ask. "Wouldn't it be faster to simply fly there?"

Voldemort had already started off in the direction Harry had indicated. "Because the boy needs to stay in contact with the ground for the spell to work." He explained as he stopped to turn back to them. "He wouldn't be able to feel the pull in the air."

Orion pulled his wand out and in a fraction of a second, Harry found himself suspended a few feet off the ground before he even knew what had happened.

"Well?" Orion ask, turning to the teenager as he fought for some equilibrium.

Harry paused in his struggle for a moment, then shook his head. "He's telling the truth." He replied. "I don't feel anything now."

Orion lowered Harry back to the ground as Voldemort shook his head at them. "Honestly, Mr. Black." He tsked at the younger man. "Where is that infamous trust your Headmaster was so adamant we needed to have?"

Little more was said as the group started off. To Orion's relief, Harry's lead kept them just on the outskirts of the forest itself. They traveled along for several miles until they came to the back edge of the forest which opened into a large, flat field that stretched on for several more miles.

But as the group started out across the field, Harry remained at the forest's edge.

Orion stopped and turned back to him. "Come on, Harry," he stated. "your the guest of honor, after all."

Harry didn't make a move to follow them.

Voldemort was the first one to turn around and head back to where the teenager was standing. "What's wrong?" He ask, staring back at the boy who looked for all the world like he'd rather do anything else ask of him rather than answer that particular question.

"Well?" Voldemort ask again.

"The pull has gotten a lot stronger." Harry replied quietly.

Voldemort kept his gaze fixed on the boy's eyes. "From what direction?" He ask.

Harry slowly raised his arm, pointing back the way they had just come.

Orion had joined them now. "What's wrong?"

Harry looked up at his uncle. "We must have gone too far." He replied in a slightly stronger voice. "The pull...is coming from behind us now."

Orion's brows knitted together. "What?"

Harry pointed again. "The pull is coming from there?"

Orion turned to the older wizard. "It appears to me your wizard is up to playing some very irritating games." He stated.

But Voldemort shook his head. "This is no game." He replied, his gaze still never leaving Harry.

Harry turned his attention back to the older wizard. "You were expecting this." He stated, suddenly understanding Voldemort's lack of surprise at the turn of events.

"In part." The man admitted. "In part, Mr. Black is right. The wizard is playing a game with us. But it one that has a purpose for him."

Orion frowned at him. "What purpose?"

"In order to find that out," Voldemort replied, "we'll have to play the game."

Sighing quietly, Orion stared down at the teenager, then finally nodded to him. "All right, Harry." He said. "Where do we go?"

Harry pointed back behind them.

Sighing again, Orion let Voldemort take the lead, followed by Arabella and Lupin, with himself bringing up the rear.

In the space of only a few steps, the group suddenly disappeared.

(------------------------------------------)

(PLEASE SEE CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE PART B.)