A/N: Boring week, guys. Not much to say.

Except,

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 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-NINE: TEST

Orion was sure Heudros couldn't have looked more surprised if Becca had walked right up to him and slapped him.

But the look quickly disappeared and was replaced by one of utter fury. "What?!" Heudros demanded.

"No." Becca replied in a voice that showed she was testing the limits of her courage to refuse the command.

Heudros' voice lowered to an even, controlled tone. "Becca, you are trying my patience with this foolishness. Now, come here."

The woman remained where she was, fixing a solid stare on the man before her.

The color in Heudros' face changed from light pink to a deeper shade of red. "Becca!" He stated firmly. "I will not ask again. Come here! Or face your punishment!"

Orion felt the woman next to him waver as she took a small, unsteady step forward. He immediately laid an arm across her shoulders and leaned next to her.

"He can't hurt you, Becca. I promised you I wouldn't let him and I won't."

Heudros immediately turned his attention to Orion. "You promised to protect her?" He ask in disbelief, shifting his gaze back to Becca. "And you believed him?!" Heudros gave them both a scornful laugh. "You stupid, stupid girl! Haven't you learned that the only one who can protect you is me?! And for all I have done for you, you would betray me by turning to this...this sad excuse of a wizard for protection?!" Heudros pointed a finger at the woman, who all but cringed back from it into Orion's arm, still draped protectively over her shoulders. "You have truly earned your punishment, Becca. For such an offense I should well and truly take back what I have given you, for you have shown yourself to be an ungrateful child." Heudros pulled back and crossed his arms over his chest, bringing his tone back to one someone would use to confront a disobedient child. "But, as always, I am generous with you. More so than you deserve, surely. But you will be punished for this, Becca. And Mr. Black will witness your punishment. And we'll see if he can 'protect' you."

Orion smiled at the man. "I wouldn't have it any other way, Heudros."

Heudros seemed momentarily wary of the Unspeakable's comment, but then clapped his hands.

Immediately the other thirteen appeared and quickly formed a circle around them.

"Because you have seen fit to defy us, Becca, though I will not take your magic from you, you will be forced to serve the others."

Becca's eyes widened in panic. "But it is too soon!" She all but cried out. "I can not possibly..."

"Silence!" Heudros bellowed at her. "You earned your punishment, Becca. You willfully and freely defied us, following the words of another. Of your masters enemy, no less! Now be silent and accept your punishment or I may see fit to simply remove you from our service all together and choose another to take your place."

Orion watched as Becca meekly bowed her head in submission. He quickly put a finger under her chin and lifted her head again.

"No." He told her. "Don't bow to him, Becca. Don't submit. Fight. He can't hurt you, and neither can they, unless you let them."

"Silence!" Heudros bellowed again. "Stop filling her head with these false ideas, Mr. Black." Heudros quickly turned to Becca in a move Orion found a little too desperate. "Becca, you will cease listening to him. Or your punishment will be greater."

Orion tightened his hold on her shoulders. "He can not hurt you, Becca. I promised that. And I keep my promises."

Heudros seemed to be waiting for Becca decision in the matter. But when she stayed where she was, facing him down with a slightly more determined stare, he turned from her with a scornful dismissal. "Very well, girl, you have earned your punishment." He walked past the others as they closed the circle. "Begin." Was all he told them as he walked out of the circle.

Orion waited to see what was going to happen, not that he didn't already have a good idea. Seconds later the group started their chant. And almost on the same mark, Orion called, "Bo!"

Instantly the tower of black robes moved in front of his two companions.

The thirteen stopped their chanting almost instantaneously. Heudros turned back to face them, his face growing redder by the second.

"You fools!" He stated. "Why have you stopped? Are you so weak you fear a simple boggart?"

Not one of the group's members moved so much as a finger, although Orion kept alert for any movement that may signal danger.

Heudros looked like he was well on his way to mass murder at this point. "Idiots!" He roared at them. "You are all weak and hopeless. I give you more power than you could ever imagine in your pathetic lives, and you cringe in fear from a simple boggart?! You are all unworthy of what I have given you."

"But Heudros," one timid voice spoke up. "You have warned us of the boggart. Not to underestimate his power."

Orion's head snapped around to where the voice had come from. "What?!" Orion had suspected for some time that Heudros' target in all of this had been the boggart, or more accurately, the 'Power' it housed. But the comment from one of the thirteen was more telling to Orion than even a direct confession from Heudros would have been, for it proved the man knew more than he let on about the boggart.

Across the room, the distraction was all Heudros seemed to be looking for. Aiming his wand, a ball of light launched out from it and flew in the direction of the Unspeakable.

"Interfering worm!" He yelled. "You will pay for your acts."

Orion wouldn't have had time to counter the spell. But he also didn't have to. Before the ball reached him, a robe covered hand reached out and caught it in mid-flight.

Pulling the glowing sphere about, Bo leaned over it, as though looking it over, trilling softly as he did so. But suddenly the sphere's light dimmed and within a few seconds it finally it vanished all together, while from under the hood a slight smacking sound could be heard.

Bo immediately extended the now empty hand towards Heudros, who pulled back slightly from it.

"He liked it." Orion told him in a calm if not slightly amused voice. "He wants to know if he can have more."

Heudros looked genuinely disconcerted by the statement, but then pulled himself up to his full height. "I will give him plenty to chew on." He stated empirically. "We'll see if your boggart can face the force of my magic."

Orion gave the man a positively gleeful smile. "Let's see what you've got."

Heudros turned to the others. "Do as I say! Start the spell. It will encase both of them and the boggart will not be able to harm you."

Instantly the thirteen began the chant again, if not at a slightly more rapid pace.

Orion quickly pulled Becca back. "Bo!" He called over the voices of the others. "Protect!"

Around the circle, the thirteen had increased the pace of the chant.

Orion noted the slender body next to him began to tremble slightly. Whatever they were doing, it was starting to effect Becca. But Bo wasn't being idle either. At first he looked simply interested in what the others were doing. But suddenly his form went ridged, as though someone had suddenly poked him long and hard.

A low growl came from under the hood. An instant later Orion watched as a nearly invisible barrier went up, effectively placing itself around them.

Almost at the same time Becca's body stopped trembling and she looked up, amazement in her eyes.

"What has he done?" She ask, turning to Orion as the others continued their chant.

"Nothing you can't do yourself, Becca." Orion informed her.

The woman shook her head. "No." She stated, the awe still in her voice. "I can not use my magic against the thirteen. They are too powerful."

"Becca, the greatest power they have over you are their lies. Stop believing in them and they will lose their power. Trust me."

Becca stared silently at the barrier for several seconds, as though judging the sincerity of Orion's words. But finally she pulled herself up, a new determination shining in her eyes. "How?" She ask.

Leaning down, Orion pointed to the barrier between them and the thirteen. "You see the barrier?" He ask. "Now, just imagine one of your own making. Think of what you want it to do."

Orion watched as Becca closed her eyes and a look of concentration crossed her face. But then she slowly opened her eyes and focused on the barrier. Orion turned a clandestine look to the boggart and gave him a slight wave.

Orion felt the instant Bo dropped the power of his own barrier. A wave of magic swept over them from the force of the spell. But he kept his focus on the woman standing next to him.

"Don't let them frighten you." He told her in a quiet, calm voice. "Just keep thinking of the barrier. Of what you want it to do."

Becca kept her whole focus leveled on the now wavering barrier around them. It shifted and shimmered, dipped and bowed in response to the three forces pushing at it. One from in front and two from behind. But as the look of determination strengthened on Becca's features and the barrier suddenly solidified its stance and the muted waves of the spell getting through stopped completely.

Orion smiled. "Very good, Becca!" He stated triumphantly.

But Becca shook her head. "The boggart is helping me."

Orion turned to Bo, who shook his head in response.

"No, Becca." Orion told her, turning back to her. "Bo began to withdraw his support of the barrier when you started. And currently he isn't lending any support to it at all. You're doing this all by yourself."

A look of wonderment and fascination took over the woman's expression. "Me?" She whispered. "I did this?"

Heudros quickly shoved several of his High Council out of his way as he approached the three with purposeful strides.

"Don't be insane, girl!" He shouted at her. "You know all too well you don't have the ability to do such a thing! The Unspeakable is lying! His boggart is helping you."

A loud razing sound came from under Bo's hood, directed at Heudros.

Heudros gave the boggart a positively loathing stare before turning back to Becca.

"Becca, stop this at once! Accept your punishment and I may still be generous and allow you to keep your magic."

"I thought you said she wasn't responsible?" Orion replied.

Heudros seemed to suddenly realize his error, but recovered with remarkable speed. "The boggart is helping her." He repeated. "But even that will eventually fail, for even with her support added to his, the boggart can not keep the barrier up much longer."

"Really?" Orion stated, turning to Bo. "Bo, Heudros doesn't seem to think you stand much of a chance against him."

The next sound from the boggart was unmistakable. A soft, gleeful giggle came from under the hood.

"Now you see," Orion stated with a sly smile, "now your just entertaining him."

Heudros took a step back. "Keep your distance!" He stated as firmly as his now wavering voice would allow. "Or I will..."

"You'll what?" Orion cut him off with a disgusted tone. "According to your own familiar you weren't anything to take notice of to begin with. Without Becca supporting you, I doubt there's much you could do to worry me."

Heudros gave the man a wide smile. "Are you sure you want to test that theory, Mr. Black?"

Orion returned the smile as he held up his hand. Instantly a large glowing ball of light appeared in it. "Absolutely."

Heudros sized up the situation and apparently did not like the odds he was coming up with.

"Becca," he stated once again, "come here."

Again Becca held her ground. Something Orion noted she was getting more and more comfortable with doing. "No!"

"Do not argue with me, girl! My patience with you is exhausted! Now come here!"

This time Becca didn't even bother refusing him as she simply stood and looked over at him with growing distaste.

"Becca," Heudros stated, lowering his tone until he sounded more like the man trying to reason with a very stubborn child again, "listen to me..."

"No! I am done listening to you, Heudros."

"Becca, I understand how you could get this confused. Mr. Black is very persuasive. He can tell you the things he wants you to hear and make them sound reasonable. Make them sound like the truth. But Becca..., they are lies. I am the only one who has ever told you the truth."

"Truth?" Orion scoffed at the man. "Heudros you wouldn't know the truth if it came up and introduced itself to you."

"Be silent!" Heudros shouted at him. "You are responsible for this! You are the one who led her astray. Perverted her with your lies. Becca," Heudros turned his attention back to her with the same placating voice, "this man has lied to you and told you things that are not true. And why? To serve himself. He was without his servant when he came to you, was he not?"

Becca paused, then nodded.

"And everything he has done has been to get him back? Isn't that so?"

Becca didn't answer this time, but she kept her attention focused on the man in front of her.

"All he wanted was his servant back, Becca. Because without him the man is powerless."

"Becca is well aware of how badly I wanted Bo back." Orion cut in. "But she also knows the real reason for it."

Becca lifted her head slightly. "Mr. Black was worried about his serv...his friend." She explained.

"Friend?" Heudros laughed. "Where do you get these ideas, girl? That creature is Mr. Black's servant. He does what he is told. Nothing more."

Orion turned to Becca. "Is that what you've seen?" He ask. "Bo 'serving' me?"

Becca paused, then shook her head.

"He shows you what he wants you to see." Heudros interjected. "Don't be fooled, Becca. This man is lying to you. He is trying to sway you over to his side. But I am willing to overlook your transgression because I know how persuasive the Unspeakable can be. He has turned you around with his tales and confused you. But if you come back to me, and you come now, I will forgive this oversight and we will take care of this fool together."

Becca seemed to consider the offer as she stood for several moments with her gaze still fixed on Heudros. But eventually she shook her head. "No, Heudros."

Heudros looked like a man only seconds from a serious breakdown. "Becca, I am being very reasonable here," he stated, his voice raising slightly with every word, "but my patience with you is about at an end. Now come to me or I will take your magic from you."

"You do like to keep threatening that, Heudros." Orion replied. "But I have yet to see you do it."

Heudros shifted his eyes briefly to the man standing next to Becca. "Is this the lie he has told you then? That I can not take your magic from you?"

Becca pulled herself up and crossed her arms over her chest as she stared back at the man before her. "As he has said, Heudros, you have yet to do it."

Heudros turned to the ground for a moment before turning back to face Becca. "And you think that is the worse I can do to you? Take your magic from you?"

"I personally don't think it is something you can do at all." Orion put in.

"Be silent, worm!" Heudros demanded. "You have done enough damage here." The wizard turned to the others still standing a short distance back. "Mr. Black is the problem here. Kill him!"

Orion barely had time to bring up his defenses when Becca stepped in front of him and brought her hands up.

"No!" She stated, bringing the barrier up between them and their attackers again.

Orion felt the power of the thirteen hit the barrier like a steel ball being swung into it. The problem, he knew, was that Becca was literally fighting herself, and then some. And in her already weakened state, he doubted she could keep the barrier up long enough to wear down those on the other side. Even after only a few moments, she was showing the strain.

"Bo." Orion turned to the boggart. "Any help here would be appreciated."

One thing Orion had always said about his enigmatic boggart, was that when Bo wanted to make an impression, good or bad, he went about it full force. Stepping up beside Becca, the boggart pulled himself up to his full height and stared down his hooded nose at those on the other side. A small, single wave of his hand and the barrier before them dropped like a chemise veil before a hurricane force wind. With the same hand, Bo pointed to the floor, then raised his hand up. Instantly a wall of flames shot up from the floor.

A shriek of terror went up on the other side of the wall as the thirteen immediately fell back to keep from being charred, although Orion knew full well Bo had such complete control over the fire a person could stand next to it and remain unharmed if he wished it.

But there was no need to tell the others that just yet.

"You stupid girl!" Heudros yelled from his position to the side of them. "You will learn your place!"

Raising his wand, Heudros pointed it at Becca and let loose a spell that flew directly at her. But the ball of light only made it as far as within a few inches of her when it stopped abruptly.

Reaching over her head, Bo plucked the ball out of the air and brought it around in front of her. Holding it in his hand as though it were nothing more than a toy, he offered it to the woman standing next to him.

Becca looked at the glowing sphere, then turned her attention to Heudros. From where he was standing, the wizard looked as though he were now trying to fight his way out of a small box that encircled him.

Before them the fire still burned high and bright, but no heat came from it.

"Is your boggart doing all of this?" She ask, her voice laced with awe.

"And I assure you," Orion answered her "this is just a fraction of what he can do, Becca. What you can do, if your willing to learn."

The woman's eyes turned slowly back to her struggling master. "I want to learn." She said softly.

Orion directed her attention to the glowing sphere Bo still stood holding in his hand, held up to Becca like a prize.

"Take it." Orion instructed her.

Becca stood staring at the glowing sphere as though Orion had just told her to pick up a coiled snake.

"Take it." Orion coaxed her. "It can't hurt you unless you want it to. That sphere is nothing more than a form of magic, and, therefore, a part of you. Tell yourself it can't hurt you, believe that, and pick it up."

Becca stared at the glowing sphere for a few seconds, then slowly reached out. But as her hand made contact with the ball, she pulled back with a sharp yelp.

"It stings!" She cried.

Heudros laughed at the result of the experiment. "Of course, you stupid girl!" He snapped at her. "Because he's lying to you. Now make his boggart release me and I will deal with him."

Becca turned a momentary eye to Heudros. And Orion watched carefully as she made yet another decision on her journey to freeing herself from her masters.

Slowly she turned back to the ball of light, a renewed look of determination on her face. Reaching out, she slowly wrapped her hands about the glowing sphere on either side and carefully lifted it from Bo's hand. She turned this time to meet Orion's smiling approval.

"You're a very quick learner." He congratulated her. "Now, what do you want to do with it?"

"Your...the boggart absorbed this before. Can I do that?" She ask with a note of hesitancy.

"You can do whatever you can imagine with it." Orion replied.

The woman closed her eyes as she held the ball in front of her. Slowly the light began to dim and the sphere itself began to shrink. Within a few seconds the light blipped out and the sphere disappeared completely. A small, satisfied smile came to Becca's lips as she stood with her eyes still closed and her hands held before her.

"That felt...wonderful!" She stated. "It is like a warm glow coursing thorough my body. And I feel...I feel as though my power is stronger now."

"That's what it is to absorb the magic of another, Becca." Orion explained. "In this case, Heudros'."

"This is what the others have done to me all these years." She stated simply. "They took power from me recently. Can I take it back?"

Orion shook his head. "I don't think you would want to, Becca." He replied. "The magic they took from you isn't yours anymore. It's corrupted by their own innate magic. But they can't use it against you either. No one can use magic against you."

The woman gave him a questioning look.

"It's fighting fire with fire, Becca." Orion explained. "How can you use magic against someone who is magic? They may be able to direct the magic with spells, but it's a part of you. It will respond to you first."

"That is how your boggart is stopping Heudros' spells." She suddenly reasoned out.

Orion nodded. "He calls to the magic and it responds to him." Orion explained. "Because it's a part of him."

"Lies!" Heudros shouted from his invisible prison. "All lies, Becca. Destroy them both and prove your loyalty to me."

Orion was almost amused at the no more than passing glance Becca now gave the man before turning her attention back to him. He wondered if it had even dawned on Heudros yet that his one time servant no longer even referred to him as her 'master'.

"And the others?" She ask, briefly glancing at the thirteen now standing more or less huddled together in the far corner of the chamber. "Do they also have no power over me?"

"No more than Heudros." Orion replied.

Becca turned to face them, effectively putting her back to Heudros. But Orion quickly grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her back so that her attention was now more evenly divided.

"Never turn your back on an enemy!" He stated coldly. "You are not invincible, Becca. Remember that. Always remember that!"

Heudros took the timing of the impromptu lesson to make yet another try to regain control.

"Attack them!" He shouted at the others. You drained her power from her just a few days ago. They'll never stand against all of you. Use the spell to bind them."

From their corner, the thirteen once more began their chant. But a sudden bolt of light that exploded in their midst and effectively scattered them brought it to an abrupt end.

"You will cease!" Becca declared.

Five of the thirteen nearest to her immediately brought out their wands. But no sooner had they pointed them at their targets than the wands suddenly turned to ash and dissolved into a pile on the floor.

Looking up the five saw the tower of black robes ticking a cloth covered finger back and forth at them.

Orion shook his head as he turned to the boggart. "Will you stop showing off." He stated. "Just deal with the problems at hand."

A small flutter ruffled the cloth before the boggart's hooded face.

Bo turned his attention back to the thirteen, who quickly huddled back once again into the corner as the boggart turned to them.

Abruptly the group disappeared.

Becca turned a startled look back to the boggart. "Where did they go?!"

Bo quickly made several gestures, then turned expectantly to his Channeler, who shrugged at the explanation.

"They're outside the castle now." He translated. "But apparently Bo didn't think they were very safe as a group, so he sort of 'scattered' them."

Becca thought about the implications. A deathly silence fell on the room. But slowly she finally turned her attention back to where Heudros still stood.

Orion watched as the emotions played across the woman's face.

He knew she still didn't believe all he had told her yet, but she was fostering a number of his ideas. And in that belief was a new determination. A determination that, if the look on her face was any indication, was given birth to by sheer anger.

"You have lied to me!" She stated slowly, a sneer etched deeply across her face.

"Becca, you have to listen to me..."

But the woman cut him off. "Decades!" She seethed. "Decades you have lied to me. Manipulated me. Robbed me of my power. Not yours, Heudros! Not something you gave me. Not something you had within yourself. Mine!"

"Becca, stop this at once! Release me and I am still willing to overlook this transgression."

"How very generous of you indeed." Becca drawled out, stepping over to where Heudros still stood encased by the invisible barrier. "Especially when I am not so inclined to return the favor."

Orion noted that at this point Heudros was looking very nervous indeed.

"What do you mean?" He ask.

Becca stopped only inches from the wall of the barrier. ""That I am not willing to overlook your transgressions, Heudros." She sneered at him.

"How...how dare you speak to me so!" Heudros stammered over the words, trying to sound authoritative and doing a truly poor job of it. "Have you...have you completely lost your mind!"

Becca gave the man a completely mirthless smile. "No, Heudros." She replied. "I think I am, in fact, finding it for the first time."

"You will regret this, Becca." Heudros stated in a forced tone that didn't convey one ounce of real threat behind it. "I have been more than tolerant with you, girl!"

"Tolerant?" Becca replied in a harsh tone. "Tolerant? You want to talk tolerant, Heudros? You are still alive! That is tolerance!"

The barb seemed to find one small point of strength still left in the man and sparked it to life. "You stupid, worthless, ungrateful creature!" Heudros leveled at her. "After all I have done for you?! This...this is how you choose to repay me?!"

"What you have done for me?" Becca answered back with a laugh. "You have lied to me. Enslaved me. Used me for your own ends. For all of this I should be grateful?"

"Yes!" Heudros stated. "Grateful! Because before I came along, you stupid creature, you didn't even exist!"

Orion could practically hear Heudros' mental 'Oops!' as his mind caught up with his mouth as he uttered those words.

"You were nothing but a muggle!" He quickly tried to repair the damage.

"Was she?" Orion put in with a small smile. "Or was she anything at all, Heudros?"

The man gave Orion a positively loathing stare. "This has absolutely nothing to do with you. You have caused enough damage for one day." The wizard turned quickly to his servant. "Becca, return to your rooms. Return to them and stay there until I call for you. If you do not, I promise you, you will not see the light of day again. You think taking your magic is the worst I can do to you? It will only be the beginning. I will lock you up in the deepest part of this castle and leave you there. Let you rot away the last of your days with no hope of escape. Do you hear me! Now go!"

Becca stood stock still beside Orion. "Really, Heudros?" She ask calmly. "You're going to lock me up in this castle?"

"I will do it, girl, if you don't return to your rooms right now!"

Becca continued to merely stare at him without so much as the slightest shift in her expression. "Would you like me to show you what I think of your castle, Heudros?"

Unsure of what she was planning, Orion was pretty sure he didn't want to see what Becca thought of her prison at present.

All in all, Orion was very pleased with how well Bo had performed all the tasks he gave him so far. He had never given the boggart such a complex set of instructions before, and lists set to a chronological order were not Bo's long-suit by any means. He was far too distractible for them for the most part.

But so far Bo had performed admirably. He had managed to follow each changing dynamic around him and sensed fairly well when he was needed and when to back off. With the exception that Heudros had managed to fire off spells while behind the barrier Bo had placed around him, something Orion felt the boggart did more to show off than anything as he deftly stopped each one, he had managed to keep them well protected, but also allowed Becca to take up her own fight, bolstering her confidence as she fought in her own defense.

Planning his next step, Orion suddenly felt the floor beneath him shift, then rock slightly. Looking down he saw a large fisher suddenly opening, splitting the floor from one end of the room to the other.

Turning quickly he glanced over at Becca. But the woman was standing with her eyes closed, her face a stone mask of concentration.

The whole castle seemed to shake under some unseen force as a new fisher opened up in the floor, this time running the length of the room to the other side and continuing on, taking out the wall it supported in a collapsing shower of rock and debris.

"You see!" Heudros cried out, still within his imprisoning cell and raising his voice to be heard over the sounds of the destruction around them as another wall came crashing down behind them. "You see what you have done! You can't stop her. No one can! Only I controlled her and now she will not even listen to me. And once the castle is destroyed, she'll be loose on the world. All because of your interference!"

Turning to Bo, Orion gave the boggart a quick tap on the shoulder. "Time to go, buddy." He stated.

Turning to Heudros, Bo gave a slight wave of his hand. The second the barrier around Heudros dropped, Orion was already moving, making a beeline for the man. But the movement caught Becca's attention as she opened her eyes.

"No!" She shouted, directing a spell at the man racing towards her former master. "He is mine."

Orion pulled back just as the spell cut across his path, putting it directly on course to a large stone that shook lose from the wall next to him. The spell hit the rock in an eruption of light and debris.

A piece of the destroyed rock cut across Orion's face, causing him to stumble back several steps with a cry of pain as he brought his hands up to cover the wound as well as shield himself from any other debris.

Reacting to the sound of his Channeler's distress, Bo immediate appeared at Orion's side, taking hold of his free arm as in a flurry of gestures he tried to ascertain what was wrong. But Orion quickly waved him off.

"Get Heudros and get us out of here!" He cried, turning back quickly to see what Becca was doing.

Across the room the woman was cutting a path towards them, waving debris, dust, and falling rocks out of her way as though they were paper.

"Now, Bo!" Orion reiterated.

The boggart grabbed the man before him, pulling Heudros into the enfolding material of his robes.

Just as he stepped back, placing himself within Bo's hold, Orion turned once more to see where Becca was and make sure they would still be able to escape.

As he turned he saw an arm reaching for him. But it suddenly was knocked away as a large stone fell from overhead.

A scream of pain and frustration was the last thing he remembered hearing before the scene went black.

Q&A

Lee Swain:

Great chapter can't wait to read more, i like that Becca is finally seeing the light so to speak. Will she realize how badly she was used and want revenge, or will she turn to Bo for help or Orion? All questions i have lol.

Interesting question, Dear. However, although in this chapter she seems to be taking both roads, consider the old adage that a child is no more than what its parents teach it.

So, lets consider what Heudros has taught Becca.

People are pawns. Their sole purpose is to serve your plans. When they cease to do that and become annoying, you get rid of them.

(Everyone stops and thinks it over.)

General consensus?

(Hand goes up in the back of class.)

Yes?

Heudros is screwed?

Correct! Class dismissed.

MasterLupin:

Hmm…. FFN didn't post my review on chapter 48. Oh well, sometimes computers are about as reliable in accomplishing a task as a fish. This chapter was an eye opener. I now have a new prediction. I foresee that Katlin will go to Hogwarts and be treated by Madam Pompfrey and Snape. She will then inform Dumbledore of all the recent events that have happened. He will not have any instructions for her other then to go home and spend some time with the kids; he will then begin to ponder about what is going on. Meanwhile, Orion Bo and Becca will confront Heudros, and reveal the true nature of Becca straight from the horse's mouth. There will be a major battle and Heudros will not be victorious. Simultaneously, Heudros' minions unaware of what is going on in the castle will encounter the remaining group's hiding spot, where battle will ensue. Harry and the others will be captured giving Heudros a new bargaining chip, the groups lives especially Harry; Orion will not know what to do, but Becca will act as an independent person and kill Heudros.

That's my prediction and I think it should be about 60-75 accurate.
Have a Happy 4th of July.

Just a minute! My fish are very accomplished at task accomplishing! I put food in the tank. They eat it. Task accomplished!

Well, before I blamed the computer, I'd look at FFN for losing a posting. Sometimes they're less than up to the minimum standard requirements.

Hmmmm..., (Checks back of computer.)...nope, still no internet connection, so they couldn't have tunneled into my 'Notes' folder...no home break-ins...must be telepathy.

Well, Dear, that's pretty close, but not quite complete.

Katlin does go back to Hogwart's, but remember that when Becca sent her there, she could hardly stand up, let alone take care of five children under the age of 18.

They will be remaining with their grandparents for the time being.

I don't think it's going to take a lot of confrontation on Bo or Becca's part to get Heudros to talk. Point being, Heudros just loves to hear himself chatter.

The group is actually far too well hidden for Heudros' minions to find them. (Translation: I only have a few more chapters to wrap this thing up in.) Therefore 'no', no one is getting captured.

As for the last part, well, that would just give the whole ending away, wouldn't it? So I can't answer that.

ilovesiriusblack:

Hmm interesting chapter. While i'm glad that Becca is finally standing up to Heudros that fact also makes me quite worried. I'm not sure that I see a big fight coming, surely Heudros wouldn't be stupid enough to think that he could beat Becca and Bo in a fight? So what is Becca supposed to do next? Orion is destroying the only life she has ever known, leaving her to her own devices could be very dangerous but she is not likely to subject herself to another master willingly if she has just found freedom. She also has cery little in the way of moral code to guide her.
As always looking forward to the next chapter.

Well noted, Dear. Indeed, Heudros is no fool. And only a complete idiot goes up against a six-foot broad sword with a butter knife. Granted, Heudros has his butter knife out, but he is not currently making any threatening gestures with it that concern Bo enough to take serious action.

One may well wonder if Orion is really thinking ahead on this one. True, he is literally destroying the only life Becca has ever known, and she has all the combined morals of a Wall Street investment firm, but she's also very young in the standards of her own kind. Chronologically, she's only 15. Emotionally she's closer to Bo. But whereas Bo is a happy, if not slightly hyper, three-year-old, Becca is a very angry one on the verge of a really major hissy fit.

So the real question here is, once separated from Heudros, what exactly are Orion's plans for Becca? And will he be able to carry them out.

Time will tell, Dear.

CelticHeiressFiona:

Awesome chapter! And Happy Birthday!

Thank you, Dear. And it was very nice.

Silverfox:

Happy Birthday:) waggs tail happily
I love this chapter. (Bo getting cuddled, yay!) How did Becca find Harry, if she wasn't able to leave the castle/ward? Can she search outside without going there or at least seeing it?

Thank you, fox.

Of course he gets cuddled! Who wouldn't want to cuddle a cute little (?) three year old? Especially when he's whining and unhappy? Poor Bo.

Good question, Dear.

Keep in mind, Becca is nothing more than a corporeal form of pure magic, just like Bo.

The only thing that contains her are the wards of the castle. Wards that Heudros has already shown are very 'flexible'. Now, does that mean she can leave their confines? No. But she can search past them without ever leaving home, as it were.

What Heudros ask Becca to do was to find a powerful wizard. Now, in the world according to PAR, wizards and witches give off a 'vibe' based on how powerful they are, regardless of age. Finding Harry based on this premise was about as difficult for Becca as finding a lit 100 Watt light bulb in a completely dark room.

This might also suggest that Becca isn't as naive about the world as she lets on. Not true. Whereas Becca was allowed to perform certain tasks for Heudros that required contact with the outside world, she was always kept on a very tight lease while doing it.

How?

Simple. You make someone so afraid of something they have no desire to get too close to it. This is basically what Heudros did with Becca. He simply presented the world outside her castle as a horrible, dangerous place (pretty accurate, if you ask me), only allow her to ever see things that backed his version up, and Becca was perfectly happy to stay where she was.

So how did Harry end up as Heudros' secretkeeper without anyone knowing what was done? For Becca, a practically limitless magical power, that wasn't very hard. She simply found someone Heudros approved of for the role, and placed the spell. Hardly even worth working up a sweat over for her.

Now, just for a second, lets go back to an early question you had back around Chapter Fifty-two that I eluded to an answer to regarding were Bo and Becca the same thing. I said 'no, they were not'. But the point was the 'same' in what way. With a few more cards on the table now, I'd like to explain that.

Is Bo a non-corporeal 'Power'? Yes.

Is Becca a non-Corporeal 'Power'? Yes.

Are they the same? No.

Why? Again, I could make a list here. One, Bo started out a non-corporeal being and was later given a body. Becca's situation was exactly the opposite.

Also, Bo has a host, Becca does not. That's very important in the question of who has a better foothold in this realm. By the grace of his host, Bo wins hands down there.

Next, if it were to come down to a fight between the two (something, by the way, Orion is trying to avoid like the plague), who would win? With very little doubt, I would say Bo. Why? One simple little factor, folks.

Experience.

Simply look at the manner in this chapter that Bo handles himself. He is very comfortable with who he is and how he handles the power at his beck and call. But he's also never really known anything else.

Becca is just coming into the realization of who and what she is and what she's capable of.

And I'd like to point out that whereas Bo may win, he isn't likely to do so without a few scratches. After all, Becca has already shown she's a real poor sport at losing.

She may lose, but she's going to go out making darned sure you're not happy about winning either.

Skahducky:

Oh man, I can't wait to see this confrontation.
Wait, the best Heudros can hope for? Wouldn't losing Becca ruin him?
Please update soon!

Well, I'm not sure how pleased you were with the 'confrontation', but I hoped you liked the chapter.

Oh, nice question! Won't losing Becca ruin Heudros? Probably.

So why is that the best he can hope for? Well, he may lose her backing, but hey!, he's still alive. Something that is currently irritating Becca to no end.

Remember, Becca has very few problem solving tools, and she's got a real favorite when it comes to how to handle those little irritating factors that crop up in life.

All reviews are as of 07/07/2007.

And remember;

Middle age is when the broadness of the mind and the narrowness of the waist change places.