A/N: (People start checking their watches.)

So exactly how much longer is this thing?

I feel it is fairly safe to say Family Relations has about five more chapters.

Will everything be wrapped up then?

Ummmmmmm..., no. The final wrap up will be in Family Ties, which is, of the three arcs of the Family series, the shortest. But if you leave Family Relations with any questions, I promise you Family Ties will answer them.

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 the one before the one before this one.

CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE: OFFERINGS (PART B)

The man stood before them as still as a statue for several moments, but finally broke the silence.

"I suppose to say it is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Black, would be pointless."

Orion stared up at the man for several silent moments. "If everything I believe about you is true, I'd be willing to bet the farm I'm the last person you're happy to see."

The man remained silent for a few seconds, then turned his attention from Orion to Harry. "Actually, the person at this moment I am the most disappointed in to see is you, young Mr. Potter." He stated. "I would have thought by now you would have seen the wisdom in heeding the warnings you have been given and not allowed others to continue to direct your actions."

Harry merely stared up at the man, saying nothing. For a few seconds he allowed his attention to shift to his uncle, but just as quickly directed it back to the man before him.

"You've done well to come this far." Heudros continued authoritatively, turning his attention back to the group as a whole. "And it would be a waste to see your efforts come to nothing. But to go on is not advised." He added in a bored tone. "I have been very patient with you. But that patience is wearing thin. But still, I have no argument with any of you, and I do not wish to see you destroyed. And so do I come with an offer for each of you. A token of my admiration for your efforts, and a respectable trade for your promise to end this trek here and now."

"Trade? Orion ask. "What sort of trade?"

The man turned to him. "I offer to each of you each your heart's desire. The thing you hold closest to you."

"Really?" Voldemort spoke up in a slow, irritated tone, crossing his arms in front of him. "And what do you suppose you possess I would be even remotely interested in?"

The man turned back to him. "You, Lord Voldemort, Leader of the Deatheaters, I respect. I respect your power. I respect your accomplishments. I respect the man you have structured yourself into."

"You would do better to fear me." Voldemort replied in a tone as chilled as an artic wind.

The man barely even acknowledged the interruption. "You seek respect from your contemporaries. In a world where you are a perpetual Pariah, you seek simple acceptance. I offer you all this and more with us. You would be highly respected within our ranks and a place of great honor would be yours. Honor for your abilities and for your knowledge. We would welcome you openly."

"Would that be the same welcome you offered me before?" Voldemort ask flatly.

The man shook his head. "Those responsible for that incident have been dealt with. They were plainly told no harm was to come to you. They chose to ignore those instructions, so did they pay the price. Myself and the others, we know the value of having a wizard such as yourself join us. We can offer you the power you crave."

Voldemort stood for a moment, studying the man before him before he said slowly, "You need to go back to your astute observations of us. I have the things you are so generously offering me. And I have no desire to become someone else's lapdog. I lead. I do not follow."

"You just don't work and play well with others." Arabella offered with a terse smile.

The man cut him off before Voldemort could answer her.

"And you," He stated, turning to Arabella, "You wish the spirit back fully in this body. Safe, unharmed, and whole. I offer this to you."

Briefly startled by the man's shift in attention to her, Arabella started to say something, but stopped abruptly. A hand rested itself on her shoulder. She turned just enough to catch sight of Voldemort standing behind her, his expression as open as she had ever seen it. A plea.

Slowly she turned back to the man before her. "And I decline your offer." Was all the answer she gave.

The man stared at her as though utterly surprised. But he quickly recovered himself. "You don't believe I can give you this?" He asked, as though that was the only explanation he could accept for her refusal.

"I don't believe I owe you any explanation." Arabella replied smoothly. "I have made my choice, and my answer is 'no'."

The man paused again, then turned to Harry. "You have lived your life alone." He stated. 'Without family. Without parents. My offer to you, Harry Potter, is the thing in your life you wish above any other. The return of your parents."

If the man expected gratitude or excitement from his offer, he couldn't have been more surprised.

"My parents are dead." Harry stated defiantly. "No one can't change that."

"You under-estimate me." The man stated. "I can give you what I say. And all you need give up...," he added, turning slightly to where Voldemort stood, "...is the life of the man who took them from you so unjustly."

Voldemort looked up. "I'm just going to assume you mean me." He stated in a half-interested tone.

The man ignored him. "All of this I offer to you, Harry Potter. The lives of your parents returned to you and the life of the man responsible for their deaths forfeited in exchange."

"Wonderful. I won't accept your offer, so your going to kill me now?" Voldemort stated testily.

"You had your chance." The man replied flatly, but kept his attention focused on Harry.

"So, for my parents to be returned to me," Harry asked carefully, "Voldemort has to die."

The man nodded.

"No." Came the blatant answer.

Again the man looked utterly stunned. "You would honestly refuse such an offer?" He stated. "I am being most generous."

"You heard the boy." Voldemort snapped back with a pleased, superior smile. "He said 'no'."

"Silence, vermin!" The man stated firmly. "The choice is the boy's alone to make."

"Now I'm vermin?" Voldemort ask dryly.

"My answer is 'no'." Harry replied. "Nothing in this world can bring my parents back. Not really bring them back. And even if you could somehow do that, it isn't right at the cost of someone else's life."

"You have made a very poor choice." The man stated in a good deal less friendly and solicitous voice. "Perhaps your companions will make better ones." He quickly turned his attention to Lupin. "You have been set upon by a curse most unjustly. I offer to remove this from you."

Lupin looked thoughtful for a moment, then slowly shook his head. "I am afraid I must also respectfully decline your offer."

The man looked exasperated. "For what reason?"

"For ones you will never understand." Lupin replied.

The man paused, studying the lycanthrope for a moment before turning his attention to Katlin.

Throughout the exchanges, Orion had studied each person in turn, judging their responses. To him it was little more than an exercise to hone his skills. But it was his own wife that mystified him. Each of the others had listened patiently to the offer, and then equally refused it. But Katlin had stood prepared for it. In his judgment he would have said she was viewing whatever Heudros offered her as an unspeakable insult before it was even offered. The absolute hatred emanating from her now was so palatable he could almost feel it as a physical thing.

And before Heudros even spoke she cut him off.

"And what foolish offer do you think you can make me? What thing do you think you possesses that I could possibly want from you?" The words were practically spat at the man.

Heudros stood silently for a moment, as if judging this latest reception. "I offer you peace." He state simply.

"You would do better to offer me pieces of yourself."

"Do not spurn my offer so quickly." He advised. "For what I offer no one else can give you. You who have lost not only your family, but your life. All taken from you in a single instance. I can restore all of this to you."

Katlin studied the man for a moment, some of the tension in her expression seeming to drain away. To Orion's surprise, however, the calming of her outward expression was a total contradiction to her actual demeanor. If possible the hatred in her for the man standing before her positively soared.

"How?" Katlin ask in such a calm, civilized manner one would have though she was discussing some mundane event with the man.

"Your village, your friends, your family, all will be restored to you. For such is my power. You can return to your life as it should have been, not as it was cruelly fashioned to be by the man who took you in and manipulated you to his own ends."

"Me again, right?" Voldemort interjected quickly.

"And at the forfeit of whose life this time?" Katlin ask with a deep frown again etched across her face.

"No one's. It shall simply be as though the tragic events of your past never happened."

Katlin paused, then gave the man a short, derisive laugh. "All you are offering is to rewrite the past, which no one can truly do. All you can have is a well-constructed lie. And I have already had too much experience with those."

"It would be real." The man promised her.

Katlin gave the man another, short, dismissing laugh. "Real?" She ask in a spite filled tone. "You want reality, I will give it to you."

A bright spiral of light rapidly twisted its way around her body, starting at her feet and ending as it swirled briefly about her head as it encased her body.

When the light faded, in its aftermath stood a woman few would have recognized or made any connection with to the one who had stood in her place only seconds before. A scarred, bent, twisted body was all that remained of the once beautiful woman called Katlin Griss. Barely able to hold itself up, Orion quickly rushed to his wife's side, offering her one arm as support as the other quickly went about her waist.

But she quickly shoved him away as her gaze never left the man before her.

"Look and look well." She hissed at him. "Look at years of pain. Years of humiliation and self-hatred. Years of wanting nothing more...than to die. And you say you are going to 'fix it'!?"

Once more the light swirled up around her, and in an instant the mask of her body was back in place.

"Do tell." Came the ice cold challenge.

"You doubt what I can do." Heudros replied after a few brief moments where he seemed to genuinely struggle to regain his train of thought. "But I promise you, what I offer you is real."

"It wouldn't matter how real it was," Katlin fired back, "it would still be a lie."

The man seemed to be rapidly reaching the end of his patients.

"Foolish woman. Do you have no concept of what I am offering you?"

"Perfectly. And I would be very careful how you insult me, as that you have already very callously insulted my master, on whose very generous benevolence towards you are you even still standing."

Voldemort stood watching the exchange with his chin resting in one palm, his arm supported by the other. He quickly raised one finger. "The jury's still out on that one. "

The man seemed to have reached his limit finally. "Is there no one among you that recognizes how generous I have been in the offers I have made to you?"

Roland, having pulled himself up onto Harry's shoulder, quickly waved his tail in the air as he coiled himself up. "Hey, booby!" He stated, waving his tail frantically for the man's attention. "What about me?" He asked. "What are you offering me?"

The man abruptly pointed his finger at the little snake, firing off a spell at him. "A quick and painless death, servant of the evil one!"

"That's it!" Voldemort snapped, pointing at the man as Roland quickly dropped down into a flat coil and Harry ducked down to avoid the path of the spell. "Katlin, kill him!"

Reaching for her wand without hesitation, a hand on Katlin's shoulder quickly stayed her.

"Just a moment." Orion stated. "I haven't heard what I'm being offered yet."

"More lies, I would wager." Katlin hissed between her teeth.

For the life of him, Orion could not understand Katlin's reaction to Heudros. It wasn't irritation, or annoyance, or even just dislike. It was pure, uncensored, seething hatred.

"So would I." The Unspeakable replied calmly. "Because that seems to be all this man has to offer any of us. A package full of lies and false promises."

"Is that so?" Heudros ask, turning his full attention to the Unspeakable. "Then tell me, Mr. Black, will you also be so quickly to turn down what I offer you?"

Orion gave the man a false smile. "I don't know. I haven't heard what it is you're offering yet."

"You are the first born son to a family living in the shadow of a longstanding curse. One that has haunted your family for generations. You stand, even now, on the brink of seeing this curse passed on from you to your own eldest child. Something your father sought to save you from, which even now you think you can equally save your own child from. And yet, for all your efforts, and all those of your father, you have not as yet managed to contain this evil and rid your family of it. Take your companions, leave this place now, and I promise you the evil will not follow you back. It will be trapped here, and here it will remain. Never to trouble your family again."

"You need to check your wording." Orion cautioned the man in a low, dangerous voice. "Because what you are referring to is not 'evil'. And I take great exception to your referring to it that way."

The man gave him an astonished look. "Not evil?" He stated. "Have you taken complete leave of your mind? This thing is nothing but evil. But we have learned how to control it. We have methods to deal with it properly."

Orion's gaze shifted for a split second from Heudros to the woman standing so complacently at his side, then back to the man before him. "Really?" He ask in a curious tone.

"It controls you, Mr. Black. Don't be deceived by its outward nature. It wants. It needs. It plots and plans for its own ends. And it uses you to do that."

Orion crossed his arms in front of him. "You don't seem to like it very well." He stated.

"It's a tool. And I use it as such." The man stated as though he were talking about something he had just taken out of his shed to trim bushes with.

"It's not a tool." Orion stated calmly. "It's not a thing. And it certainly isn't without feelings."

The man barked a laugh back at him. "You make it sound like a pet, Mr. Black."

Orion studied man past a long, hard gaze. "Try a friend."

"And that," the man stated menacingly as he pointed a long, thin finger at the Unspeakable, "is where you have made your mistake."

Orion only slowly shook his head. "No, Heudros." He replied flatly. "It's where you made yours."

The man gave him a long, slow smile. "Really? We shall see, Mr. Black. In the meantime, since each of you has seen fit to reject my offerings, perhaps we can settle this another way. You wish out of this castle, you shall have it." Heudros paused as his smile grew ever so slightly. "If you can earn it." The man turned to the woman next to him. "Becca."

Instantly the group watched the scene around them shift.

Gone were the walls and the ceiling. The stone floor and the rows of torches lighting their way. Instead they now stood in sunlight, fresh air filling their lungs for the first time in days.

Taking in the new surroundings, Orion quickly noted that they were standing before what appeared at first to be a large stage. But looking it over more closely he felt the platform likely had a more sinister use.

Heudros said they could earn their way out of the castle.

He felt fairly sure the platform had something to do with 'how'.

A few seconds later Heudros appeared in the center of the platform with Becca ever present at his side. But this time they were not alone. On his other side stood another woman, far taller than Becca with long black hair, dressed in a loose fitting pants and jacket.

"Now what?" Orion stated quietly.

Q&A

ilovesiriusblack:

OK to set your mind at ease Treaks is definately not on the christmas card list lol, but I'm still not 100 convinced that Charley should be either. Jury's still out on that one.
After reading your reviews I'm starting to worry about Moony. How long has this group been away for? When is the full moon?
A showdown, finally! I can't wait to find out who wins! If I were a betting person, which I'm not, I think I'd put my money on Orion with a side bet that Bo and Becca won't keep out of it.
Going back a lot, I'm still really confused as to who would have been able to get close enough to Harry when he was younger, as I imagine James, Lily and Sirius to be very overprotective, whoever it was, was definately playing the long game. How would they know that Harry was going to become important unless of course Lilly and James were already dead, and Sirius was in Azkaban.
As always fantastic story and I can't wait for the next chapter!

Now if you've been reading these things from long, long ago, you'd remember that we've had many a long, serious discussion on just whose side Charly is on. Everything he has done has, for he most part, not been self-serving. Charly was faced with the decision of watching someone with real potential, kill his friend, or do what he could to find a way to save him. That has always been, and still remains, Charly's goal. To keep Orion safe.

Actually, its been a lot shorter than you think. I know, due to the stories length, it seems they've been in the wizard's hold for possibly weeks. It has, however, in fact, only been a few days. If you count it out exactly, I believe it comes to about three days total.

The full moon is not an issue I am bringing into this story. Good heavens, it's long enough without adding more! I have, in fact, in the interest of time, deleted several chapters already. Hard, but necessary.

Oh, a showdown is most definitely coming. I keep saying this one thing; Becca isn't as complacent as she looks. She's possibly a bit more naive than is good for anyone, but she is most definitely not stupid. And Heudros has baited his own trap with her. He has strung her along with a whole web of lies which are slowly starting to surface. But the worst of them haven't come to light yet.

You're betting that Bo and Becca won't stay out of it? How can they? Orion is Bo's friend. He's highly unlikely to sit still while someone attacks his friend. and Becca simply does whatever Heudros tells her to do.

Unfortunately, you're asking a question here I can't really explain at this point because that is brought up later in the story. Hang in there and you will get your answer.

However, allow me to point something out here that people may not be aware of.

Keep in mind, this is a story arc of three parts. Family Life, Family Relations, and Family Ties. When I say 'later in the story', I am not referring to 'this' story. This story wraps up with what some people may feel are a few loose ends. All of which are tied up in the final arc of the over all story. The good news (?) is, Family Ties is the shortest of the three.

Skahducky:

Well, I hope the following conversation will clear up a few matters at least. Please update soon!

Me too.

Actually, I'm betting most peoples questions will be answered in the next chapter.

Silverfox:

happily waggs tail at Moony

I don't think it was obvious as such, just suspicious. If he were a friendly or uninvolved wizard's familiar, Roland could have said so from the start. He had something to hide, though, so who's there on the other side? The rest was merely strong suspicion. He could of course have been the familiar of any of Heudros' followers. It just felt right that he'd be Heudros'.
Well, I thought Roland might have put his morals over his comfort when he saw that what Heudros was doing was wrong. It's what I expected at least.
No, no, I've given up on that one. I can't figure it out. Reminds me too much of those odd philosophical arguments where all I can ever figure out is that my definition of a word isn't the same as everybody else's, but not what they actually mean or think that I mean. I'm pretty sure I have a very basic concept very wron here.
And here I thought Roland was trasferring a fear of Becca to Bo ... which was actually a consequence of my conclusion that they are alike, but they aren't ... gets dizzy from running in circles again

Well, I never said the little snake didn't have a few things to hide.

Never said he was perfect, either.

But in Roland's defense, let's keep in mind that Heudros is a master at having you see exactly what he wants you to. After all, the man is a murderer many times over, but try and convince Becca of that. She is totally convinced that everything Orion and the group try to tell her are just vicious lies.

Actually, I think the problem is you're focusing on the wrong thing. Give it two more chapters, let the you-know-what hit the fan, then tell me if I was wrong.

Nope. Roland actually likes Becca. If nothing else, he feels sorry for her. He sees her as, just as he said, being nothing more to the others than 'used, abused, then refuse'.

I just really can't get into that last part without saying waaaaay too much than I should at this point.

CelticHeiressFiona:

Awesome chapter!! And the gang and Heudros meet finally!!

And as Orion pointed out quite accurately, 'and a good time was not had by all'.

MasterLupin:

Well, did Hudros design the castle then? If so is its function merely to occupy their time, or is something more sinister.
I know it probably won't happen, but please have Harry just stab Hudros in the back and be done with it. It would be so awesome.

Yes, he did.

It's function is not merely to occupy their time, slow them down, or distract them. In fact, give his choice, Heudros would not have had them find the castle at all. That was someone else's doing entirely.

Sinister? Hmmm..., that depends on how you look at it. Was it designed for some evil purpose? (PAR thinks long and hard.) Not really. But again, that depends on how you look at things.

Sorry. But once you get a larger look at all this man has been up to, I'm sure you'll agree a nice, quick death is way too good for him.

All reviews are as of 05/18/2007.

And remember;

I've got more issues than a magazine.