A/N: Yah!!!!!!!!

Par got a raise at work!

Very, very happy.

Also, be sure to check out PAR's new story in a new category. Look up Fault under The Dresden Files. And if you missed this wonderful show on the Sci-Fi channel, you deprived yourself of a real treat.

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 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 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 FIFTY-ONE: ROLAND'S STORY (PART TWO)

"You were Heudros' familiar!" Voldemort all but shouted back at the little snake.

"That was how he got everyone to follow my orders." Roland answered back, refusing to back down. "By making me his familiar."

"All right. It's not a crime to be a familiar." Orion put in, moving a bit closer to positioning himself between Roland and the dark wizard. "Go on, Roland. What happened after you told Heudros about the other snakes?"

The little snake fell silent for a moment as the others listened intently to his story. Lifting his head slowly, Roland took a slow glance around the room, then dropped his head again.

"At first, nothing. I waited for Heudros to call an assembly. That was what he did with the snakes when he needed to talk to them. But this time he didn't. I ask him one day when he was going to, and he more or less brushed the subject off, saying there was no need for it. That he was working on a plan to settle the matter and that was that."

"And this didn't even mildly raise your suspicions?" Voldemort ask.

"I wasn't looking for betrayal around every corner like some people." Roland replied. "Good heavens, man, are you naturally paranoid or is it something you honestly have to work at?"

"Go on, Roland." Orion prompted again.

"Well, one day one of the other snakes came to me and reported that several of our number were missing. No one had seen them for days and there were no reports of them leaving the castle for any reason. They were simply...gone. At the time, I didn't realize it, but the ones who turned up missing were the same ones I had mentioned having heard talking when I spoke to Heudros about the malcontents.

I went to Heudros and I ask him if he knew where the snakes were that were missing. He looked startled, then concerned and ask me for as much information as I could give him about them. Who they were. Who had seen or spoken to them last. Who were their friends. Things I saw no suspicious motives for asking." Roland added, turning to Voldemort.

The dark wizard stared down his nose at the little snake. "All the same questions I would have ask if I wanted to totally eradicate an unfavorable faction." He replied. "Find them, find their friends, family...anyone they may have tried to corrupt with their ideas and wipe them all out."

"Well, you and Heudros just might get along then." Roland said. "Because that was just what he did. At first, no one knew what was going on or what was happening. But slowly but surely snakes began to disappear for no reason. For years, Heudros blamed it on others. The Deatheaters, the Ministry of Magic. He even told his followers that some of the spies they captured who worked for the dark lord were parseltongues and were working with some of the snakes against them."

"Well, that much at least could be true." Voldemort confirmed sullenly. "A few of my spies I gave that ability to."

"That was part of what was so hard to figure out about Heudros. He told the truth when it suited him. So you rarely knew what was a lie and what was the truth. And he was a master at mingling the two to suit his own needs."

"What happened then?" Orion ask.

"After a while even I became suspicious of things. Others were talking. Telling stories of wizards and witches coming to the nests of some of the snakes in the castle and gathering up whole groups and taking them away with no one hearing from them again. Our numbers were getting dangerously low and many of the snakes had left, fearing the very thing I failed to even think. That Heudros had turned against us. But many more stayed, feeling as I did that Heudros would never turn against the snakes. We had been with him for years and he had never done anything to threaten or harm us. He treated us as equals. He would never harm or betray us." The little snake finished in an almost pleading tone.

"Friends are always the hardest ones to see betrayal in, Roland." Orion offered.

"The others tried to warn me." the little snake continued. "They came to me and begged me to help them get rid of Heudros. Without him they felt things could return to the way they had been. But like the fool I was, every one who came to me, asking me to help them overthrow Heudros, I reported to him. I hoped somehow telling him...trying to show him how badly things were deteriorating would force him to realize something needed to be done."

"He did realize it, idiot!" Voldemort snapped at the little snake. "And he was dealing with the problem. All with your help."

"When we found you, you were in a cage." Orion pointed out, turning briefly to Voldemort. "Hardly where I would have expected to find a well-trusted traitor."

"Paranoia's a funny sort of thing." Roland answered. "Once it gets hold of you, unchecked, it keeps growing until you don't trust anyone anymore. That's what happened with Heudros. Eventually even I fell under suspicion. I guess Heudros felt I had heard too much from the malcontents. That after so many months of it, even I was getting corrupted. So one day, yes, I found out what had happened to almost all of my people. Hung in cages, locked in a room and left to starve, butchered outright. I saw it all. Most of the bodies were eventually taken and burned. Heudros was so convinced the snakes had betrayed him, he didn't even want dead ones around him. This room was just one of the ones that got forgotten about because no one ever comes down here."

"What?" Voldemort ask. "You mean you actually kept something to yourself? You didn't run off and tell him about this room as well?"

Orion eyed the man with less than kindness. "That's enough, Voldemort. What he's told us is the truth. He didn't set out to betray his people. He was manipulated and used. Tell me you're not guilty of just such a thing."

"Tell me you're not." Voldemort replied with the smallest trace of smugness in his tone. "And left up to you, I'm sure you would accuse the little scaly rat of nothing more than having some trouble keeping his mouth closed. Whereas I know a traitor when I see one."

Roland sighed as he turned to the dark wizard. "I'm not going to argue the point with you, Voldemort. Because I can't. I was arrogant and I was stupid and I got my people slaughtered. That's a heck of a legacy to have engraved on your headstone."

"Well, I'll do my best to remember it for you." He replied with a small smile that didn't convey one ounce of warmth. "Or better yet, maybe we should just still take you with us when we leave after all. We could return you to your people. Those that had the sense to leave."

"You won't get a warm welcome from them." Roland replied stoically.

"I'll just bet."

"You'd win."

"But you ask us to take you with us when we get out of the castle." Orion pointed out. "If the other snakes hate you so much, why ask us to put you in a situation where you're likely to be found by them?"

Roland sat for a moment before answering him. "Call it atonement." He replied finally.

Orion shook his head. "Don't mistake atonement with suicide, Roland. You want to redeem yourself? Help us stop Heudros. Tell us what you can about him."

"There's not much else to tell." Roland replied. "You found me in the cage, where Heudros had me put and left to die like the others."

"What about the ward on the stairs. Why didn't you warn us?"

"Before I was put in the cage, Heudros said I had a chance to redeem myself with him. To help him defeat his enemies. He said I could prove to him that the snakes didn't betray him. Heudros told me if I was captured by you..."

"Captured?!" Voldemort stated. "You call that being captured?"

Roland spared him a momentary glance. "Heudros said if I could arrange to separate Harry from the rest of you, he could talk to him. He would explain things to Harry and after that you would all leave. I had no way of knowing what he was really planning."

Voldemort gave a loud sigh as he turned back to Orion. "How much longer are you planning on listening to this dribble?"

"As long as it takes for me to learn what I need to." The Unspeakable answered, turning back to the little snake. "Just keep going, Roland. Right now, you're entertaining the heck out of me."

"So glad I'm proving amusing."

"It isn't just amusing, Roland. If I'm going to defeat this wizard, I need to know what his final goal is."

The little snake looked shocked. "You honestly don't know?"

Orion answered with a flat expression. "Enlighten me."

"They're not so hard to figure out. Pretty much standard with every other megalomaniac. He wants to rule the world."

Orion gave the little snake a thoughtful stare. "And with Becca, he stands a very good chance of doing just that."

"With only one problem." Roland stated, pointing his tail at the Unspeakable. "You."

"Me?"

"You and your boggart." Roland clarified. "You're the only thing that stands in Heudros' way."

"Bo?" Orion ask. "What does Heudros know about Bo?"

Roland shrugged. "I'm not sure. But he sure is a favorite topic of conversation with Heudros. In fact, Heudros has been watching the two of you for a very long time. Years, in fact. Had his own spies watching you."

"His spies?"

"What did you think? Heudros just makes lucky guesses at all he knows about things." Roland sat back on his tail as he appeared to think for a moment. "Let me think...what is it that Heudros doesn't know about the Deatheaters...?"

"My Deatheaters!?" Voldemort all but shouted the statement at the little snake. But Roland hardly paid the outburst any mind."

"Shhshhshh." He tsked at the dark wizard. "You're breaking my concentration. Now, where was I? Oh, yes...what doesn't Heudros know about your Deatheaters?" Roland tapped the tip of his chin with his tail before flicking it at Voldemort. "Oh, right. Nothing."

Voldemort leaned down to the little snake. "And how," he drawled out, "is it that your master knows all there is to know about my Deatheaters?"

"Honestly!" Roland snapped back. "Pay attention. S.P.I.E.S.."

"Who!?" The dark wizard demanded.

"You're not very good at this, are you?" Roland ask. "If they're spies, they don't exactly post that on their resume, now do they?"

"You were his familiar!" Voldemort snapped back. "You must know something about them."

"Not this time." The little snake answered. "Heudros kept these two very close to his vest. He never spoke their names to anyone I knew of."

"Two?" Orion stated.

Roland turned back to the Unspeakable. "That's right. One was in Voldemort's camp, and the other," he added, pointing his tail back at Orion, "was in yours."

Orion pulled back slightly. "A spy? In the Ministry?"

Roland shook his head. "You two really don't listen very well." he stated. "Not in the Ministry. In your department."

Orion looked as though the little snake had just come up with the most ludicrous statement he could think of. "A spy? In the Unspeakables? That's not possible."

"Yes, well, Orin Bale isn't as untouchable as he thinks." Roland replied. "Heudros has had a spy watching you for years, Mr. Black. And through that spy he has also learned a great deal about your little friend."

Orion positively paled this time. "Bo? What could anyone tell Heudros about..." But the Unspeakable stopped himself suddenly. What could he himself say that wouldn't only serve to raise Voldemort's suspicions even higher about his boggart. "What possible interest could Heudros have in Bo?" Orion stated instead. "He's just a boggart."

"Riiiggggghhhhht." Roland replied. "And I'm just a snake."

"You know Roland," Orion added coldly, "Voldemort is right about you. Sometimes you really do talk too much."

The little snake picked up on the change in the man's tone immediately. "Right then." He stated quickly. "If that's all you'll be wanting from me, I'll just be off for a short nap. Do let me know when you've decided to leave this room, will you?"

Before anyone could ask him anything more, Roland disappeared back into the hood of Harry's sweater.

"You want me to get him back out?" Harry ask, turning to his uncle.

Orion shook his head. "Leave him be for now."

In truth, the last thing Orion wanted was for the little snake to poke his head out of the hood and keep talking. Heudros obviously knew something about Bo. The question was, how much, and even more importantly to Orion, where did he learn it? Very few people knew the whole story about his families boggart. The immediate family themselves knew, of course, and Katlin, and Orin, and Charly, and now Harry. But who in that group even knew Heudros, let alone would tell him about the boggart?

Orion sighed to himself. The other possibility was that he had been careless, and that some unknown person had figured things out. Voldemort was dangerously close to doing that himself. Who else had he allowed contact with the boggart that would make the connection that things weren't as simple as they seemed.

Maybe his father was right all these years, and limiting Bo's contact with the outside world was simply too dangerous.

Sighing to himself, Orion pushed all thoughts of who in his department was a traitor to his fellow agents and focused on the more immediate problem. Namely trying to get them all out of the castle safely. Despite what Roland said, Orion had few doubts they could remain in any one place in the castle for very long without Heudros finding them eventually.

But even that fell secondary to his main goal.

"So now what?" A voice broke into his thoughts.

Orion turned to see Arabella standing next to him.

"Well, getting out of here would be nice." Orion answered. "But while we're working on that, we need to consider an even more pressing issue."
"Which would be?"

"If everything Roland said was true, then Heudros' is getting the majority of his power from Becca. If we can separate her from him we stand an even better chance of stopping him, since according to Roland, without Becca, Heudros isn't much of a wizard at all."

"But how do we get her away from him?" Arabella ask. "She seems totally devoted to him."

"Based on what Roland said, she is. He said if Heudros told her the sky was purple, Becca would believe him."

Arabella frowned at the statement. "Then what are we going to do?"

Orion gave her one of his more charming smiles. "I guess we're just going to have to show Becca the sky is really blue."

Q&A

It's not very often, folks, that I have to step back in my Q&A and go...Ooooooooops! But here you go.

Last week I told ilovesiriusblack that the Binding spell the thirteen used on Becca was not that unusual and could be found in any standard spell book.

That isn't true. Mostly because it totally contradicts what Orion told Katlin about the spell. Bo taught it to him. And being as well versed at that age in spells as Orion was with Bo as a teacher, if the spell was common, he would have already known it. But since he did not, the spell had to be somewhat unique.

So, no, the spell was not a common one.

Sorry.

Q&A

Skahducky:

That story was certainly interesting. You do have a knack for making things out to be entirely different from how they seem at first (I'm thinking of Heudros' alternate story for Voldemort's reasons to kill Harry's parents).
So how long are Harry and the others going to stay in Heudros' lair? Didn't they set out to defeat Heudros? Doesn't that mean they should be looking for a way to find him so they can attack him while he thinks they're just lost?
Anyway, this is a great chapter. Please update soon!

I enjoyed working on that story. It was a true exercise in trying to look at something from someone else's point of view to try and rewrite those events.

Their days there are certainly numbered. And don't get confused. The castle is not Heudros' 'lair'. Think of it as his amusement park. A place of his making where he can control everything. Past that, the castle has another explanation that will come up shortly. And oddly enough, keep in mind they haven't been on this journey all that long to begin with. Three days max.

Defeat him how? they set out to stop him. How they were going to do that hits a bit of a snag when everyone has their own ideas of how to best accomplish that goal.

Heudros doesn't think they're lost, Dear. In fact, he has a fairly decent idea where they are. In fact, very little is done in the castle that Heudros wouldn't be aware of. However, just 'how aware' he is of it depends on a one crucial factor. And that is Becca. So the real question here, one would suppose, is who is really controlling this game?

(Becca's naive, folks. She ain't stupid.)

ilovesiriusblack:

Another great chapter. Ok trying to answer your question 'Was what Roland did at any point a betrayal?' Personally I wouldn't think that you could argue that he never knowingly put anyone in danger, from this chapter with his knowledge of what Heudros did to all the snakes I would have a hard time believing that Roland thought that the wizard just wanted Voldemort over for tea and cakes he must have had some idea.
A question from this chapter, when Roland said 'the oldest of our kind' are we talking about the oldest snakes that took up residence in the castle, or oldest as in world wide? Also this chapter makes me think that this castle is not the ancestral family home and the presence of all those snakes makes me wonder who lived there before the 14 moved in?
As always looking forward to the next chapter.

What can I say? Roland is a perpetual optimist. Something shown in this latest chapter. He refused, against all evidence to the contrary, to believe Heudros had done harm to any of the snakes. You want naive in this story? Folks, it's small, green, has no feet, is short on length and long on attitude.

Yes, Dear. The oldest snakes living in the castle or anywhere near it. When Roland refers to 'his kind' or 'his people', he's only talking about the snakes he knows. Which would be those in the immediate area.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Good question, Dear. I'm proud of you! Indeed, exactly whose castle is that?

Unfortunately, I can't answer that right now. But it is answered in this story.

Silverfox:

Ah yes, that's what I suspected. ... That all the snakes worked for Heudros once surprised me, though. I guess Roland's earlier explanation that he feared they could be working for Voldemort was a red herring then?
If I understood this correctly Heudros is Becka's host as Talon is Bo's, so would it even be possible to separate her from him? Seems to me like poor Becka can't be saved. (And she'd have made such a wonderful playmate for Bo. ;) )

Fox, I just gotta ask, because your last review covered so much...what exactly was it that you suspected?

The story of the Heudros and the snakes isn't over yet, Dear. Remember Katlin's words, 'every story has two sides'? They'll be echoing through out the last few chapters here (and yes, we are near the end, believe it or not).

Assuming you mean Roland's earlier explanation that Heudros feared the snakes were all working for Voldemort being a red herring, yes and no. Roland is simply telling things as he sees them. I suppose if in order to sleep better at night you absolutely have to assign it a reason, use this one: Heudros is paranoid.

Fox, you're wandering around in dangerous places here. I never said Becca is anything like Bo. And with good reason. Mostly because, on so many levels, she's not.

Now, in order to answer your questions (because I really want to since it'll give you something to think about), lets assume for the moment Becca isn't quite human.

With that in mind:

1. Is Heudros Becca's host? No, he is not.

2. Would it be possible to separate her from him or him from her? Sure. Probably be the best thing for both of them actually.

3. Seems like poor Becca can't be saved? That would depend on her religious views, wouldn't it, Dear? (Oh look, PAR made a little funny.)

As to your last statement, Dear...wouldn't she just!

MasterLupin:

Well I read the reply and I am getting the feeling that Bo has a limited life span; once too much of his power is used he will cease to exist if he is all energy and no substance. The spell binding BO to Talon and the spell that prevented Orion from contacting BO in the prison cell seem at first to be two different spells. However if one views it as more like a containment field then it makes sense. But that would also indicate that the field could be breached.
Orion may realize this field could be breached and use that to his advantage concerning Huedros and Becca. If my theory that Becca is bound in a manner similar to BO, which means that her life force is also finite.

Lup! Do I look like Rowling, whacking off my most popular character for shock value?

Actually, Bo's 'capacity' for power is almost limitless. That is, while it is finite (did I just contradict myself completely?), it would take an unbelievably huge draw on his resources to cause him burn out, so to speak. To date, no one has even come close. Destroying Voldemort's lair was just a slight hiccup in the power spectrum to Bo. He likely didn't even notice it much.

Bo's 'problem', if you want to call it that, is that he is incredibly powerful, but he doesn't know it. It's like having a nuclear reactor in your backyard, but you have no idea what it's for. The danger is, there's always that small chance that someone in the neighborhood will figure out how to start it up one day, but no one can contain it, and no one knows how to turn it off. We then have a little incident known as Three Mile Island with a little Chyrnobol (you try to spell the name of small Russian towns) thrown in for good measure.

That's the dangerous potential Orion is always trying to hold in balance with Bo. Trust me, there's a lot more to the man than people realize that he is able to do that, not just for a few years, but most of his life. And that he almost always has to have a handle on it. Bo interacts with a lot of things in his day. Things he doesn't understand or know how to deal with. Talon chose to deal with that by keeping Bo on a short lease and treating him like a military five star general would treat a private. Rules and restrictions. Orion chose to deal with it by trying to teach the boggart about the world he was now living in. In short, one is trying to restrict the boggart while the other is trying to encourage him to explore. It's also one of the biggest areas of contention between Orion and his father.

And actually, one of my favorite stories is one that's coming out later called Bo's Day Out, in which the very thing Orion fears the most, happens. Bo gets out of the house and goes off on his own into the world without his host or his channeler to guide him.

Bo has substance, Dear. He's a boggart. Or at least he use to be.

Actually, you bring up an interesting point, and one that is dealt with in exactly four lines in Family Ties. Katlin attempts to get Bo to take off the robes he wears, and Orion advises against it. In answer to her question of 'why', Orion replies because he believes the robes are all there is to Bo anymore.

But mind you, as of that story, there's no proof ever offered to support that. And Bo ain't talking...or stripping for anybody.

'The spell that binds Bo to Talon and the one that prevented Orion from contacting Bo in the prison cell seemed like two different spells'? That's because they are.

The spell binding Bo to Talon, his host, is a generations old spell. It is the spell that created Bo in the beginning, and bound him to the Black family. (Note also, this is different from the spell Bo taught Orion as a means to escape the cellar.)

The spell that kept Orion from contacting Bo in the prison cell was indeed, a type of containment field. One placed around Orion. It was the same type of spell as the one placed on the collar Becca put on Orion when she placed the sealed cage around them. And yes, it can be breeched. Problem is, new situation, new skills called for. This is not a good thing to present Bo with without help. It causes issues.

Let me cut your theory short here, Dear. Becca is not bond to Heudros. No how, no way. Not even close. But that's all I can say on that because Becca and her circumstances are a large part of this story.

However, is Becca's life force finite? Depends what you mean by that. Can she be killed? Most definitely. Anything alive can die.

Is her power limited? Yes. But it's a reeeeeaaaallllllllllllllly deep well.

CelticHeiressFiona:

Awesome chapter!

Thank you, Dear.

All reviews are as of 05/06/2007.

And remember;

If you must choose between two evils, pick the one you've never tried before.