Chapter 9

Two Heads are Better than One

For the first time, Orion didn't care about making progress in his studies. His attention was completely focused on the legend of the Chamber of Secrets. He had become Remus' unofficial assistant to help with documenting the information coming in. It was common for Orion to find himself home alone throughout the day when Remus left for his meetings with Sirius, Professor Dumbledore and his source at the Ministry but Orion barely noticed. Every time Remus came back, there were stacks of parchment for him to sort which kept him busy from early in the morning to late at night. It was long and frustrating but it had to be done.

In addition to the work he was doing for Remus, Orion had a scroll of parchment containing what he believed was the most important information which included what he had learned of the student murdered the last time the Chamber was opened. Not much had been released about who actually died except that it had been a Muggle-born girl who was found in a bathroom physically unharmed. That set Orion off in another round of research. The Ministry had been more focused on the monster aspect fifty years ago. Perhaps he needed to do the same. Figuring out what 'horror' was hidden within the Chamber could lead to discovering who was behind letting it loose.

In addition to everything else, Orion had tried to send word to his friends but he was at a loss at what to say. He had never been told that he couldn't pass on what he had learned but knew that some form of secrecy was necessary. Orion had a feeling that the Ministry didn't want the public to panic with the possibility that Voldemort was once again at Hogwarts without solid proof, which meant that the Minister of Magic would have to see Voldemort standing in front of him for that to happen.

A loud crack quickly snapped Orion out of his thoughts. Turning around, Orion let out a relived sigh at the sight of Mindy nervously pulling her ears. "Young Master has firecall," she squeaked softly. "Young Master's Potter boy won't listen to Mindy. Mindy try. Mindy tell young Master's Potter boy young Master busy but—"

"—it's all right, Mindy," Orion interrupted gently. "I know Hayden can be persistent when he wants to be. I'm due for a break anyways." Rubbing his tired eyes, Orion ignored Mindy vanishing with a loud crack then rose to his feet and made his way to the living room. He couldn't believe that Hayden was contacting him from Hogwarts.

Entering the living room, Orion came to an abrupt halt at the sight of Hayden's head floating in the fireplace. From the way Hayden was shifting around, it was obvious that he had been waiting a while. Orion could only imagine what Mindy had put him through trying to obey the orders he had given her not to disturb him.

"Orion!" Hayden exclaimed as soon as he noticed Orion's presence. "Thank Merlin. We've been so worried. Can I come through?"

Orion stared at Hayden incredulously. "I don't think you should, Hayden," he answered cautiously. "The wards at Hogwarts—"

"—Ori, don't you know what day it is?" Hayden interrupted. "We're on holiday now. The Aurors practically pushed all of us onto the train early this morning so they could begin their investigations. We tried to get your dad's attention but he was too busy talking to Dumbledore and McGonagall. So—what have you been doing for the past week?"

Orion shrugged as he approached the fireplace. "Research for my dad and uncle," he said honestly. "I found out that Voldemort is indeed the Heir of Slytherin. That's why Dad's so overprotective. He thinks Voldemort's behind the attacks somehow which means he could want revenge against us for stopping him in June."

Hayden bit his lower lip nervously. "Can I please come through, Ori?" he asked. "My knees are killing me."

Orion nodded and stepped back as Hayden's face disappeared only to be replaced by the flames turning green and Hayden stumbling out, nearly falling on his face in the process. Luckily, Hayden managed to regain his footing and immediately started brushing the soot off of him. As soon as he looked up at Orion, however, any sort of smile was replaced by a frown.

"Er—is everything okay?" Hayden asked carefully. "Remus won't mind that I'm here, right?"

Orion let out a sigh. "Remus isn't here at the moment," he admitted. "I don't know when he'll be back."

Hayden stared at Orion as he sat down in the nearest armchair. "They just left you here?" he asked incredulously.

Orion bristled. "Mindy and Toby are here," he shot back. "I'm not some little kid that needs an adult to watch everything thing I do—"

"—I never said that—"

"—because my family isn't like that," Orion continued fiercely. "My dad and uncle are doing what they can to keep us safe. If that means I'm left home alone a little more than normal then that's the price I have to pay. That's the way it's always been."

Hayden quickly raised his hands in a sign of surrender. "I didn't mean anything by it, Ori," he assured quickly. "It's just—well—it must be lonely all alone here."

Orion's shoulders slumped as all of the fire to defend his father and uncle left him. It could be lonely from time to time but that's the way it had to be so what was the point complaining? Sacrifices needed to be made to ensure that Voldemort's second reign would be nowhere near as bad as the first. That was why Sirius worked so hard to capture as many of Voldemort's followers as possible. That was why he made an effort to get his foot into any investigation involving Voldemort.

Hayden rose to his feet, approached Orion and slung an arm around Orion's shoulders. "Look, I told my dad that I would probably be over for a few hours so the way I see it, we have two options," he said optimistically. "One, you can take a break from your research and we can talk about anything but the Chamber of Secrets. Or two, I can help you in any way I can. It's your choice. I would offer to fire call Neville but I know he's leaving for a family trip."

Orion vaguely remembered Neville mentioning a trip to Romania to meet with some Healers that could possibly improve Mr. Longbottom's condition. Unfortunately, the craziness of the attacks pushed any thought of the holidays out of their minds. Especially for my family.

"Ori?" Hayden prodded.

Orion ran a hand tiredly over his face. "I really need to finish before Remus returns," he answered at last before leading the way to the library. "The sooner we can get to the bottom of this the sooner the attacks stop and the sooner I can go back to Hogwarts."

"Do you really think it'll come to that?" Hayden asked quickly.

Orion shrugged his shoulders half-heartedly. "I don't know how far my dad will take this," he admitted. "I guess it depends on how the investigation goes and if we can find out more about who had been killed the last time the Chamber was opened."

Hayden suddenly came to an abrupt halt. "What?" in confusion.

Orion stopped walking and turned to face Hayden. It was a long moment before he understood Hayden's reaction. "Sorry," he said sincerely. "I've been going through so much information that I've forgotten what I have and haven't told you. Fifty years ago, the Chamber of Secrets was opened and a Muggle-born was killed. Tom Riddle was awarded for apprehending the culprit who was expelled. Since the victim was underage, her identity was never released."

Hayden blinked in amazement. "Who was expelled?" he asked excitedly.

Orion met Hayden's gaze for a long moment before answering. "Hagrid."

The look on Hayden's face was almost comical. "No way," Hayden said in disbelief. "There's no way anyone would believe that Hagrid is the heir of Slytherin."

"Just like there's no way anyone would believe you're the heir?" Orion countered then jerked his head towards the library. "Come on, you can read the notes I've made. Maybe together we can think of something."

For the next few hours, Hayden tried to help as much as he could but there was just so much that was still unknown. The girl's missing identity put an abrupt end to that possibility, documentation of Voldemort sightings ruled out him physically being at Hogwarts and there was absolutely no factual documentation of the Chamber of Secrets. Everything that they found was based on the 'legend' that many wizarding children grew up with, including what the 'horror within' could be.

The problem Orion was facing was that—as far as he knew—there wasn't any monster that could petrify someone without leaving a mark where their venom was injected. As ridiculous as it sounded, it was almost like the victims were frightened to the point of petrifaction. Whatever it was, it had to be extremely powerful to affect a ghost. There weren't many forces in the magical world that affect a ghost.

"Maybe we're doing this all wrong," Orion said quietly as he set his quill down.

Hayden immediately looked up from his parchment. "What do you mean?" he asked curiously.

Orion shrugged. "I don't know," he admitted. "There are just so many unknowns in this. We don't know where the Chamber is, how to open it or what's inside—including whatever's petrifying people. However, we know that 'the horror within' is able to affect a ghost. That excludes the majority of the known spells, every potion that I've ever heard of any sort of plant or creature—"

"—maybe not," Hayden countered softly. "What if Nick was only affected like he was because he was a ghost. He's already dead. You can't very well kill him again."

Orion frowned in thought. "But something alive could be killed," he mumbled before rising to his feet and moving towards an aisle of books. It was then that Orion was thankful that he knew the library as well as he did. It took him no time to find the large book that looked like it was on the verge of falling apart. Orion knew why. The book had been one of the first that Remus had used for reference when Orion started learning about magical creatures because of the illustrations were what Remus dictated as 'child friendly'.

"Ori?" Hayden called out curiously.

Orion immediately started flipping through the book while slowly walking towards Hayden. He didn't want to get his hopes up in the chance that his theory could be wrong. Magical creatures hadn't been covered often, only when Orion had learned that his uncle was a werewolf. He had been frightened at first until he had been taught that not all magical creatures were scary monsters. It had been difficult at first but how was a five-year-old with no memory supposed to act?

Finding the desired page, Orion glanced at the words before setting the book down on the table and turning it so Hayden could read. Hayden stared at Orion in confusion for a moment before flowing Orion's lead. Silence filled the room as Hayden's eyes ran over every word on the page. Before long, Hayden returned his gaze to Orion with a mixture of disbelief and fear on his face.

"A Basilisk?" Hayden asked. "You think there's a Basilisk in the school?"

Orion let out a tired sigh as he collapsed in his chair. "It's a possibility," he answered uncomfortably. "Think about it. Slytherin could talk to snakes so it would make sense that he would use the King of Serpents as his protector. Only a parselmouth can control it—like Voldemort."

Hayden looked skeptical. "I don't know, Ori," he said slowly. "How could something like a Basilisk live in the school for a thousand years and never be spotted by anyone?"

Orion frowned. "Well, the Chamber's only has been opened twice," answered. "I think it must need to be released by its 'Master'. It must fall into a hibernation state when the Chamber's closed. Just think about it. It can kill by looking at something in the eye. That's how the girl died fifty years ago and that's how Nearly Headless Nick was affected. He would have died if he could—"

"—but what about Mrs. Norris, Colin and Justin?" Hayden interrupted. "They're not dead."

Orion frowned in thought. Hayden had a point but Orion was certain that he was on the right track. "Maybe they didn't get the full blast of it," Orion offered. "I don't know. Do you have any better ideas?"

Hayden let out a sigh as his shoulders slumped. "No," he answered weakly. "I don't mean to be so negative but you know anyone you talk to will ask the same questions, right?"

Orion grudgingly nodded. The problem was that he was running out of ideas. Unless he found answers to the ever increasing questions, Orion had had a feeling that he wouldn't be returning to Hogwarts. Of course if Orion's theory had been right, it was highly probable that he would never be allowed to enter Hogwarts again.

A familiar voice quickly pulled Orion out of his thoughts. "Well, this is a surprise," an amused Remus commented as he came into view. "Good evening, Hayden. I hope that your parents do know that you're here."

Hayden quickly nodded. "I told my dad," he insisted. "Have you found out anything about who's behind opening the Chamber?"

Remus stared at Hayden with a raised eyebrow for a long moment before answering. "Actually, no, I haven't found anything about the Chamber of Secrets but I have learned a few more things about Voldemort," he said cautiously. "Does your father know why you're here?"

Hayden shrugged his shoulders. "I came over to check on Orion and decided to stay until someone came home so he wouldn't be alone."

"Hayden," Orion hissed through clenched teeth.

"What?" Hayden asked as he rose to his feet. "You may accept being left home alone for long periods of time but I don't. If you find yourself home alone again, let me know. We can hide out in my room so you don't have to talk to my parents, all right?"

Orion cast a nervous glance at Remus before returning his gaze to Hayden. "I appreciate the offer Hayden but really, I'm fine," he insisted. The last thing he needed was for Hayden to vent his frustrations to his parents. "I'll let you know if anything changes."

Hayden hesitated for only a moment before bidding farewell and leaving. Orion took the opportunity to begin cleaning up his work area, including the book on magical creatures. Until he had proof, the Basilisk idea would remain as a theory. Just like everything else. This is starting to become hopeless.

A gentle hand rested on Orion's shoulder, halting his movements. "Ori, I'm sorry," Remus said softly. "Hayden's right. You shouldn't be left on your own like this. Please understand, we're doing this to keep you safe—"

"I know, Moony," Orion interrupted tiredly as he arranged the books into distinct piles. "I know you and Dad have responsibilities. That's why I've been trying to help. Hayden just doesn't understand. His parents don't work so he doesn't know what it's like."

"Ori—"

"It's fine," Orion insisted as he picked up his scroll of notes and one of the larger piles of books. "Look, I'm tired so maybe I'll see you in the morning. Just leave the information on the table and I'll start on it first thing."

Orion was partially grateful and partially hurt that Remus just let him leave the library. A part of him was relieved that an argument had been avoided while another part of him was disappointed that something like leaving him home with nothing other than house elves as company for days at a time wasn't important enough to become an argument.

That was what worried Orion the most. If his father and uncle were this busy now, what would it be like when Voldemort actually returned?

"Sirius, please! Something has to change. You didn't see the look on his face last night. He honestly believes that your job and my thirst for knowledge are more important than him."

"You're wrong. Ori's smarter than that. He knows we're doing this for him."

"Explain that to a twelve-year-old boy who feels the need to defend us for neglecting him. I can't do this anymore. I will help Orion finish up on documenting the research I've collected but after that I fully intend on ensuring that Orion enjoys the holidays before he returns to Hogwarts."

"Remus—"

"—no, Sirius. You have searched the entire school and have found nothing. I will not let you keep Orion locked up here until you feel it's safe enough. That day will only come when Voldemort is gone for good. We both know what's happening. It's only a matter of time before Voldemort manages to gain a body and you know who will be his first target. Hayden needs Orion in his life. Regardless of what you want, Orion will undoubtedly be in the thick of things."

A loud sigh could be heard followed by a loud creak as the door to Orion's bedroom was slowly pushed open. "Is it wrong for me to want to protect my son, Moony? I know it doesn't look like it but I am doing this for him. I'm trying to keep him safe."

"Just like Lily tried to keep 'Harry' safe? Sirius, your son adores you but if you keep pushing him, he will rebel. Is that what you want? Do you want him to run away like you did?"

The bed shifted with the weight of someone sitting down. "I don't think I can do it, Moony. How am I supposed to send him somewhere when I know something dangerous is there?"

A hand rested on Orion's back before moving up to run through his hair. "If it was anyone but Ori I'd be worried. We taught him how to handle this sort of thing. How many other kids contacted their parents, Sirius? How many of the Aurors had a twelve-year-old inside Hogwarts telling them what was really happening?"

"My son is not a spy, Remus! I refuse to put him in that position!"

Orion let out a soft groan and buried his face into his pillow. The hand shifted to his right shoulder and squeezed it gently. That was the warning for Orion to remain complete still as a pair of lips brushed against his forehead. Orion found it strange that Sirius was always so affectionate when Orion wasn't able to complain or return the gesture.

"I should get to work—"

"—Sirius—"

"—I won't be there for long. I need to finish up a few things before I tell Scrimgeour that I'm taking a few days off. Evie's probably already there."

"Sirius—"

"Nothing like that! Bloody hell, Moony. Get your mind out of the loo. I figured I'd tell her to give it a few days before she came over to meet Ori."

"Rather remarkable that Christmas is in a few days, isn't it?"

Orion let out another groan as he rolled onto his back and tiredly opened his eyes. "Dad?" he asked groggily. "Wha's goin' on?"

A strained smile graced Sirius' face as he brushed some fringe out of Orion's eyes. "Nothing, son," he said softly. "I'm sorry we woke you. Go back to sleep. We can talk when I get back from work, okay kiddo?"

Orion slowly nodded as his eyes slowly closed against his will. He couldn't explain why he was so tired but couldn't bring himself to care at the moment. "Get up soon," he murmured. "Work to do."

A loud sigh could be heard as Orion felt the bed shift before the bedcovers were pulled up to his chin. "Not anymore," Sirius whispered firmly. "We'll take care of it, Ori. I promise."

That was the last Orion heard before drifting off to dreamland feeling more relaxed than he had in a long time.

From that moment on, the atmosphere at Black Manor changed drastically. Both Sirius and Remus tried to keep Orion occupied with anything but the investigation of the Chamber of Secrets. It was uncomfortable at first with the tension between father and son but a few forced discussions with Remus as the negotiator helped immensely. Orion was still stubborn and Sirius as still overprotective but at least they could talk to each other without it resorting to a shouting match.

Orion had sent letters to Hayden, Hermione and Cedric, informing them that he would be returning to Hogwarts after the holidays. He knew better than to even consider sending Hedwig to Romania with a letter for Neville or Egypt with a letter for Ron. It was hard enough to send her out in freezing temperatures but Orion knew that Hedwig would certainly be offended if he even considered using any owl but her especially with how irritable she was after realizing Orion left Hogwarts without her.

Hayden's reply arrived before Hedwig had even returned by means of Hayden's brown owl, Archimedes. To say that Hayden was happy was an understatement. Half of his letter mentioned plans of Orion joining the Quidditch team as a 'precaution' to ensure the Gryffindor team won the Quidditch Cup again. Orion knew that the idea had probably come from Oliver and struggled to find a way to politely decline. He loved flying and Quidditch but so much had happened in the past few years for Orion to know that there were more important things than a game.

Cedric and Hermione's letters, however, were certainly more serious. Hermione went into excruciating detail of how everything seemed to change after he left. Draco took it upon himself to taunt Hayden and Neville since their 'protector' wasn't there to fight their battles for them, the Hufflepuffs were now more divided on whether they believed Hayden was the heir of Slytherin or not and the Gryffindors had become extremely defensive towards anyone saying anything about Hayden or Orion.

Of course, Cedric hadn't been so matter-of-factly in his letter but the overall point had been the same.

In what felt like no time, Christmas morning arrived and Orion woke to something wet and rough brushing against his face. Protesting loudly, Orion quickly pushed the large furry animal away, doing his best to dry his face. It had been a while since he had been woken up by Padfoot and had a feeling that this morning's wakeup alarm was largely due to the fact that company would be arriving shortly. Orion had received a warning the night before that his father was indeed dating a fellow Auror and Orion was to be on his best behavior when she arrived. That request earned odd looks from Orion and Remus who both believed that if anyone needed to be told to behave it was Sirius.

As soon as Orion sat up, Padfoot let out a loud bark before jumping off the bed and running out of the room. Orion took that as his cue to crawl out of bed and change clothes. It didn't matter that it was early Christmas morning. Pureblood customs deemed that introductions should be done in proper attire. The customs weren't often practiced in Black Manor since Sirius hated everything about them but they had been taught for a reason.

Orion had just finished tying his shoes when a loud crack filled the air. Looking up, smiled at the sight of Toby standing in his doorway. "Happy Christmas, Toby," Orion said cheerfully. "Is Dad being impatient again?"

"Oh no, Young Master," Toby insisted. "Master's guest arrived and Master—"

"—I get it Toby," Orion interrupted dryly. That was the one problem with house elves in Orion's opinion. They didn't have a sense of humor. "I'll be down in a minute."

There was another crack and Toby was gone. There was no point in wasting any more time. Grabbing his green dress robes, Orion ventured down to the living room, his stomach twisting in knots with every step. What if she didn't like him? What if she didn't like the fact that his father was a father and forced Sirius to choose?

No. That was ridiculous. Orion knew that the family they had now—father, son and uncle—were a team—three parts of a puzzle that could do anything as long as they stayed together and were honest with each other. Besides, she couldn't be that bad if she liked Sirius Black—maybe a little wrong in the head but no one was perfect.

With a nervous breath, Orion stepped into the living room and cast a quick look around. Remus was sitting on an armchair facing two people sitting on a sofa couch. Sirius was sitting near the Christmas tree giving a clear view of the woman sitting beside him. She had long, dark brown hair that was pulled back out of her face to reveal high cheekbones, deep blue eyes and a smile that could light up the room.

Sirius was the first to notice Orion's presence and jumped to his feet. "Ori!" he said cheerfully and extended a hand to help the woman to her feet. "Son, I'd like to introduce you to Evelyn Smith. Evie, this is my son, Orion."

Evelyn turned to completely face Orion causing Orion's eyes to widen in shock. She looked exactly like the woman he saw in the Mirror of Erised last year, standing with him, his father and the boy that would have been his baby brother. How was that possible?

Sirius took a step forward. "Ori?" he asked slowly.

Orion swallowed, his eyes never leaving Evelyn. "H—have we met before?" he asked quietly.

Evelyn's eyes widened. "I can't believe you actually remember," she said in amazement. "It was about five years ago. Your father brought you to the office and you managed to wander off. I was one of the many that helped look for you. I managed to find you in the Atrium looking at the Fountain of Magical Brethren. I knelt down beside you and asked what you were doing and you just looked at me with your big green eyes and asked me why were the man and lady ignoring the creatures? I didn't know what to say so I told you that we should go ask your father."

Orion cast a quick glance at Sirius. He remembered the incident vaguely. I remembered being bored and wanting to explore. He also remembered being scolded afterwards but he didn't remember Evelyn's role in it and apparently Sirius didn't either.

"That was you?" Sirius asked incredulously. "Do you have any idea how difficult it is to explain prejudice to a seven-year-old?"

Remus snorted. "Don't you even start, Sirius," he said dryly. "You left that explanation for me, remember?"

Sirius cringed. "Well, what was I supposed to do?" he asked feebly. "You're always better at that than me."

Evelyn took the opportunity to step away from Sirius and direct Orion towards the kitchen. "I think it would be best for us to give them a moment, Orion," she said softly. "I have a feeling this is going to take a while."

"But he's your son!" Remus shot back.

"Exactly!" Sirius insisted. "I want the best for him! You know what I had for parents! I was taught that prejudice was right!"

Orion let Evelyn usher him into the kitchen and close the door, muffling the growing argument. From the looks of things, Evelyn was accustomed to this sort of behavior which surprised Orion. Normally, the bickering was reserved for behind closed doors—unless it wasn't an actual argument which meant that a prank war would begin momentarily.

"So," Evelyn said cheerfully as she sat down at the table and Orion sat across from her. "I must say that I was rather nervous about today. I've heard quite a bit about you from your father and my nephew. Actually, you and Draco Malfoy seem to be the two students Zacharias complains about the most."

Orion's eyes widened in surprise. That was the last thing he ever expected to hear. "But I don't even know Zacharias," he protested.

Evelyn smiled. "I know," she said. "He complains of how the Malfoy boy gets away with everything and that the 'Gryffindor Genius' is the only one who will stand up to him."

Orion cringed at the nickname. He wasn't smart. He had just been practicing magic longer than the rest of the second years. Hermione was actually the one who could be categorized as a genius. She could learn so fast and remembered everything. Orion knew that he was half as smart as she was he would probably be on seventh year material instead of starting on fifth.

Evelyn leaned forward, her grin falling. "Orion, it's all right," she said seriously. "I know better than to believe everything my nephew tells me. He's a good kid but he can act like a spoiled brat from time to time, most pureblood children are. It's hard to go from being an only child to a setting like Hogwarts." Noticing Orion's frown, Evelyn continued. "What I mean is that I take everything Zacharias says with a grain of salt but…well…this really isn't going well, is it?"

Orion grinned. It was actually reassuring to know that she was just as nervous as he was. At least they were starting out on a common ground. "You really like my dad, don't you?" he asked curiously.

Evelyn's cheeks flushed. "Ah—well, I don't know how much you want to know, Orion," she said uncomfortably. "I like spending time with your dad. He can always make me laugh no matter what mood I'm in just like I try to make him see reason when he overreacts. You have no idea how long he fought with deciding on removing you from Hogwarts. He wanted to pull you out the moment you contacted him. Everyone at the office knows that you're Sirius' entire world and we all know that you're no ordinary boy. That's why there's so many of us willing to help whenever something comes up—like what happened in June, for example."

Orion avoided Evelyn's gaze as he shifted uncomfortably in his chair. For some reason, that event seemed to follow him no matter what he did to forget about it.

The door opened, putting an abrupt end to the conversation. Turning around, Orion could only stare at the sight before him. Remus' skin was covered with red and green splotches and he was dressed in a Santa Claus outfit. Sirius, on the other hand, had flashing red hair sticking up on all ends and was dressed as one of Santa's helpers—a female version. It was a sight that Orion knew he could have lived three lifetimes without seeing. Evelyn immediately broke out into laughter with Orion following suit.

Despite everything happening around them, it was comforting to know that some things would never change which included a Christmas prank war.