Disclaimer: This story is based on characters created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoat Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

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Chapter 4

Orion unwittingly took a step back, his face devoid of color as his mind fogged with a hazy recollection.

In the next instant, he remembered the memory clearly; Trelawney muttering to herself as she shuffled a pack of dirty-looking playing cards, reading them as she walked, a whiff of cooking sherry surrounding her.

"Two of spades: conflict… Seven of spades: an ill omen... Ten of spades: violence... Knave of spades: a dark young man, who'll be torn between love and destiny, one who will ruthlessly achieve darkness in the end…"

An ill omen, conflict, violence, and a dark young wizard who will ruthlessly achieve darkness in the end… It was quite clear that the prediction was about him; about his choice between becoming the VA or sparing Voldemort, the man he loved.

And he had already made the decision of becoming the VA, but her prediction implied that things wouldn't turn out well, that there would be violence, that he would achieve his aim ruthlessly…

In short, that as much as he planned on sparing Voldemort, it wouldn't turn out that way; her prediction implied that the choices were mutually exclusive, a choice between destiny or love - between becoming the VA or having Voldemort by his side.

And he would 'ruthlessly achieve darkness in the end'… Just as his dreams always showed him; him killing Voldemort, and-

"Aha!" cried Trelawney, pointing dramatically at Orion as she blinked at him through her magnifying spectacles. "So this is the reason I am to be thrown unceremoniously from your office, Dumbledore!"

Orion was jostled out of his thoughts, and he glanced at them, quickly forcing himself to regain his composure as he pulled a blank expression over his face, pushing his troubled thoughts away from his mind.

"My dear Sybill," said Dumbledore in a slightly exasperated voice, "there is no question of throwing you unceremoniously from anywhere, but Orion does have an appointment, and I really don't think there is any more to be said -"

"Very well," said Professor Trelawney, in a deeply wounded voice. "If you will not banish the usurping nag, so be it… Perhaps I shall find a school where my talents are better appreciated…"

She pushed past Orion and disappeared down the spiral staircase; they heard her stumble halfway down, and Orion guessed that she had tripped over one of her trailing shawls.

"Please close the door and sit down, Orion," said Dumbledore, sounding rather tired.

Orion obeyed, noticing as he took his usual seat in front of Dumbledore's desk that the pensieve lay between them once more, as did two more tiny crystal bottles full of swirling memory.

"You look pale, my dear boy," said Dumbledore, gazing at him from the top of his half-moon glasses. He paused, and his gaze intensified as he said quietly, "Is there something you wish to tell me?"

Orion almost let out a dry bark of laughter – Something he wished to tell him? Yes, there were many things that the old coot would love to hear from him.

He checked himself in time, and under Dumbledore's piercing all-knowing stare, he didn't squirm on his seat, his shoulders didn't stiffen, and his posture didn't become rigid.

Instead, he calmly gazed back at Dumbledore as if he felt nothing but extremely relaxed and at ease with the old wizard.

Now, he was in control of every single feature on his face, just as Grindelwald made him practice till perfection, for circumstances such as this; his expression obeying what he wanted to convey, impassiveness and coolness.

But inwardly, he was being assaulted by a storm of questions and doubts; the ones he always wondered about.

What was Dumbledore playing at? How much did the old wizard suspect or know about? What was the old coot truly planning?

For he knew that Dumbledore was a force to be reckoned with, both regarding his magical abilities and his mental prowess.

The old wizard surely didn't fully trust him. Dumbledore knew about Grindelwald's unique dark magic, and the old wizard had seen his display in the Department of Mysteries; the old man certainly saw the resemblance between his powers and Grindelwald's.

And the man had to know that magic like that couldn't be easily locked away to never be used, yet that was what Dumbledore had asked of him after the Department of Mysteries fiasco.

Dumbledore had never mentioned it again, so the old wizard must believe that he was struggling to keep his dark magic at bay to never use it, or the wizard knew that he was allowing it to develop, disregarding his petition.

Furthermore, Dumbledore didn't know that he was Voldemort's spouse, but the old wizard knew that, in the past, there had been a closeness between Voldemort and him, since the traitorous rat Pettigrew –whom he had blessedly killed- had told Dumbledore that he had been Voldemort's favorite, and that Voldemort seemed to treat him differently from the rest.

That had been a long time ago, before the Department of Mysteries incident, but Dumbledore could still suspect that he hadn't cut all his ties with Voldemort.

Therefore, what was the real motive for their lessons, besides telling him how Voldemort could be destroyed? Surely Dumbledore didn't underestimate him so much; surely the old man was doing all of this for some other covert reason...

His mind spun, trying to find an answer - trying to discern how much Dumbledore could have found out about the Hallows, if the old wizard had ever discovered something about the VA, if the man even knew what it was- but he came out with nothing.

As always, he found himself unable to unravel all of Dumbledore's plots within plots; with the exception of what Severus had told him about Dumbledore's plans concerning Draco's task and the horcruxes – and even that wasn't clear enough for his taste.

There were too many uncertainties, too many unknowns; he couldn't reach an answer, and it filled him with wariness...

Orion cleared his mind, checking that his Occlumency barriers were fully raised as usual. He always took that precaution with Dumbledore, even if he knew that Dumbledore would never resort to Legilimency, since that would be too blatant and the old wizard was nothing if not subtle, and even if he knew that the only one who could breach his mind was Voldemort, since he was the wizard's horcrux and according to Grindewald his dark magic protected his mind from everyone else.

"No, Headmaster," he said calmly, gazing back at him. "I was just surprised when I saw Professor Trelawney here. I suppose she isn't happy that the centaur is teaching, then?"

He hadn't taken up Divination for his PRIMEs –the NEWTs counterpart in Durmstrang- since they didn't teach it at Durmstrang and he had only been forced to take it during his fourth year at Hogwarts, but he had often been subjected to Lavander's excited chatter about the centaur Firenze.

Though he still didn't know why Dumbledore had taken in the centaur; he suspected that perhaps the old wizard was trying to forge an allegiance with the centaurs through Firenze.

"She isn't happy at all," said Dumbledore, with a tired sigh. "Divination is turning out to be much more trouble than I could have foreseen, and I can't ask Sybill Trelawney to leave. Between ourselves, she has no idea of the danger she would be in outside the castle. She does not know - and I think it would be unwise to enlighten her - that she made the prophecy about you and Voldemort, you see. Even if Voldemort has already heard the prophecy, he would still attempt to seize her in order to break her mind and dig in for more information…" He heaved a deep sigh, then said, "But never mind my staffing problems. We have much more important matters to discuss." He pierced Orion with his gaze, and said gravely, "Firstly, I've been informed that you used a dark spell against one of your housemates."

"Ah, yes," said Orion coolly, "I'm sorry about that - it was a reflex."

Dumbledore shook his head, his expression one of deep disappointment. "My dear boy, the use of dark magic isn't allowed in this school, as I'm sure you're aware. I cannot condone such behavior."

"It was in self defense," interjected Orion gruffly. "Ron attacked me first-"

"Regardless," said Dumbledore sternly, "the use of dark spells is prohibited in Hogwarts, no matter the circumstances. And you have to abide the school rules now that you're a student here. I must impress upon you the severity of what you have done." He shot him a piercing gaze from the top of his spectacles. "You must never use dark magic again."

"I understand," said Orion calmly, "I won't do it again."

Dumbledore's gaze became more intent. "Good. Let this be your first and only warning, since if you relapse your punishment will have to be more severe. For now, you'll have to serve detention every Friday until the end of the school year."

"Alright, sir," said Orion, with a curt nod. "With whom?"

"Professor Trelawney; she could use some of your help."

Orion inwardly groaned. He had expected to serve detention with Severus, since the wizard was his guardian and they still acted as if they didn't tolerate each other.

"Fine," he grumbled.

"Excellent," said Dumbledore cheerfully, resting back against his plush armchair, before his expression turned serious again. "That sorted, have you managed the task I set you at the end of our previous lesson?"

"Ah," said Orion, thinking fast on what he had planned on saying in order to forestall the man, since he wanted to wait a bit longer before giving the old wizard the memory from Slughorn that Voldemort had already modified. The longer he held that memory from Dumbledore, the longer he had before the old man held all the evidence needed to embark on the quest of finding and destroying the horcruxes. "Well, I asked Professor Slughorn about it at the end of Potions, sir, but he wouldn't give it to me."

There was a strained silence.

"I see," said Dumbledore eventually, peering at Orion over the top of his half-moon spectacles and giving Orion the usual sensation that he was being X-rayed. "And you feel that you have exerted your very best efforts in this matter, do you? That you have exercised all of your considerable ingenuity? That you have left no depth of cunning unplumbed in your quest to retrieve the memory?"

"Well," said Orion, his tone of voice becoming defensive on purpose, "I approached him under the excuse of wanting to know a bit more about my mother, since in our first meeting with Professor Slughorn he made it evident that he had esteemed her. Then I remarked how she had sacrificed herself for me, and how her sacrifice would mean nothing if Voldemort wasn't defeated, and that to defeat him I needed to know as much as possible about Voldemort. But as soon as I mentioned the word 'horcrux', he freaked out, and yelled that he knew nothing about it and that you had sent me to-"

"Yes, he would have reacted in that way," interrupted Dumbledore sternly. "But I thought that after your first failure to retrieve the memory from Professor Slughorn, you would have tried further. I thought I made it clear to you how very important that memory is. Indeed, I did my best to impress upon you that it is the most crucial memory of all and that we will be wasting our time without it."

Dumbledore had not raised his voice, he did not even sound angry, but Orion could tell that the old wizard was expecting that cold disappointment would compel him to try harder to redeem himself.

And he wondered why Dumbledore was using that tactic, since it meant that he should be vying for his favor, that he needed the old man on his side. Even under the pretenses they were working with, why would Dumbledore believe himself to be the only person to whom he could turn to?

The silence stretched between them, only punctuated by the little grunting snores of the portrait of Armando Dippet over Dumbledore's head.

Orion felt it strangely ominous, as if there was something he wasn't grasping; the reason for Dumbledore's assuredness of his need of him.

"I'm sorry, sir," he said at last, making sure that his face didn't reveal the wary troubledness of his thoughts. "I should have done more. I should have realized you wouldn't have asked me to do it if it wasn't really important."

"Thank you for saying that," said Dumbledore quietly. "May I hope, then, that you will give this matter higher priority from now on? There will be little point in our meeting after tonight unless we have that memory."

"I'll do it, sir," said Orion with stern determination, while his mind raced trying to figure out what was escaping him. "I'll get it from him."

"Then we shall say no more about it just now," said Dumbledore more kindly, "and we'll continue with our story where we left off. You remember where that was?"

"Yes, sir. Voldemort killed his father and his grandparents and made it look as though his Uncle Morfin did it. Then he went back to Hogwarts and he asked Professor Slughorn about horcruxes."

"Very good," said Dumbledore. "But now, Orion, now things become murkier and stranger. If it was difficult to find evidence about the boy Riddle, it has been almost impossible to find anyone prepared to reminisce about the man Voldemort. In fact, I doubt whether there is a soul alive, apart from himself, who could give us a full account of his life since he left Hogwarts. However, I have two last memories that I would like to share with you."

Dumbledore indicated the two little crystal bottles gleaming beside the pensieve. "I shall then be glad of your opinion as to whether the conclusions I have drawn from them seem likely."

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Orion nodded as Dumbledore rambled about his conclusions after they had seen the first memory; the one he had already seen long ago, since the memory of Hepzibah Smith's house elf was one of the two memories he had stolen from Dumbledore's pensieve on his fourth year.

It was nothing he didn't know already; Tom, against the higher expectations of Hogwart's staff, had gone to work for Borgin and Burkes, and he had visited Hepzibah Smith. The memory showed the Hufflepuff's cup –which he didn't know where it was, though Tom had told him once that it was probably being guarded by some faithful Inner Circle Death Eater, possibly in a manor or vault- and Slytherin's locket –which, unbeknownst to Dumbledore, had already been destroyed when Voldemort merged back with Tom's piece of soul.

Nevertheless, it was still significant that Dumbledore had shared that memory with him, given that the old wizard had never showed him Ogden's memory, where Marvolo Gaunt had displayed the Peverell ring with the Resurrection Stone. Dumbledore had only narrated the event, without ever mentioning the ring.

Therefore, he was convinced once more that Dumbledore -even though the old wizard had no problem in discussing the rest of the horcruxes he suspected about- didn't want him to know about the Hallows. It only reaffirmed his suspicions that Dumbledore was keeping much to himself –as usual- and that the old man probably feared that he would find out about the existence of the Hallows…

Orion blinked, suddenly struck by a ray of comprehension; Dumbledore had some grasp about what he was – Grindelwald's successor, to name it in some way- and the old man didn't want him to travel the path Grindelwald had. Dumbledore might not know about the VA –and he was starting to seriously doubt that- but the old man certainly knew that the Hallows were needed for something; more valuable joined than separate...

Dumbledore knew much more than he had ever suspected, but yet, he still had a lot of questions on his mind about the expansiveness of what the old wizard knew or suspected. And the matter was starting to grate on him.

"…And now let's see the very last recollection I have to show you, at least until you manage to retrieve Professor Slughorn's memory for us. Ten years separates Hokey's memory and this one, ten years during which we can only guess at what Lord Voldemort was doing..."

Orion was jostled out of his thoughts, and he got to his feet once more as Dumbledore emptied the last memory into the pensieve.

"Whose memory is it?" he asked.

"Mine," said Dumbledore.

And Orion dived after Dumbledore through the shifting silver mass, landing in the very office he had just left. There was Fawkes slumbering happily on his perch, and there behind the desk was Dumbledore, who looked very similar to the Dumbledore standing beside Orion, though his face was, perhaps, a little less lined. The one difference between the present-day office and this one was that it was snowing in the past; bluish flecks were drifting past the window in the dark and building up on the outside ledge.

The younger Dumbledore seemed to be waiting for something, and sure enough, moments after their arrival, there was a knock on the door and he said, "Enter."

Orion let out a hastily stifled gasp. Voldemort had entered the room.

His features were not those Voldemort had when the wizard had created one more horcrux, before Orion had convinced him to undo it by merging back with another: they were not as snake-like, the eyes were not yet scarlet, the face not yet masklike, and yet he was no longer handsome Tom Riddle.

It was as though his features had been burned and blurred; they were waxy and oddly distorted, and the whites of the eyes now had a permanently bloody look, though the pupils were not yet the slits that Orion knew they could become if the wizard kept making more horcruxes, since the wizard had undergone many blood rituals to make his body stronger - and Orion suspected that Voldemort must have used some snake-like magical creature blood for that purpose, given the way that Voldemort's features had turned snake-like when the wizard had stupidly created one horcrux too many.

Thankfully, he had convinced Voldemort to undo it by merging back with another horcrux, but still, something inside him painfully throbbed when he gazed at this Voldemort, feeling a surge of anger mingled with a hint of sorrow, knowing that everything could have turned out differently for Voldemort if it hadn't been for the spirits' meddling.

And not for the first time, Orion wished he could have a way of turning back time to fix things, to give Voldemort a chance to become something else out of his own free will.

He pulled himself out of his musings, and glanced at the scene before him. The Dumbledore behind the desk showed no sign of surprise. Evidently this visit had been made by appointment.

"Good evening, Tom," said Dumbledore easily. "Won't you sit down?"

"Thank you," said Voldemort, and he took the seat to which Dumbledore had gestured - the very seat, by the looks of it, that Orion had just vacated in the present.

"I heard that you had become headmaster," he said, and his voice was slightly higher and colder than it had been. "A worthy choice."

"I am glad you approve," said Dumbledore, smiling. "May I offer you a drink?"

"That would be welcomed," said Voldemort. "I have come a long way."

Dumbledore stood and swept over to the cabinet where he now kept the pensieve, but which then was full of bottles. Having handed Voldemort a goblet of wine and poured one for himself, he returned to the seat behind his desk.

"So, Tom... to what do I owe the pleasure?"

Voldemort did not answer at once, but merely sipped his wine.

"They do not call me 'Tom' anymore," he said. "These days, I am known as -"

"I know what you are known as," said Dumbledore, smiling pleasantly. "But to me, I'm afraid, you will always be Tom Riddle. It is one of the irritating things about old teachers. I am afraid that they never quite forget their charges' youthful beginnings."

He raised his glass as though toasting Voldemort, whose face remained expressionless.

Nevertheless, Orion felt the atmosphere in the room change subtly: Dumbledore's refusal to use Voldemort's chosen name was a refusal to allow Voldemort to dictate the terms of the meeting, and Orion could tell that Voldemort took it as such. Furthermore, he agreed with Voldemort since Dumbledore was blatantly displaying a lack of respect and consideration by addressing him by 'Tom'; it was evident that Dumbledore wasn't trying to reach a peace-treaty between them. But it didn't surprise Orion at all, he knew that Dumbledore had never tried to fix matters between Voldemort and him; the old wizard had never tried to show Voldemort other possibilities, other paths to attain his aims, or to persuade Voldemort to have a different perspective about the problems of the wizarding world .

"I am surprised you have remained here so long," said Voldemort after a short pause. "I always wondered why a wizard such as yourself never wished to leave school."

Orion almost nodded, interested in the question, since he had often asked himself the same thing; Dumbledore's peculiar lack of ambition.

"Well," said Dumbledore, still smiling, "to a wizard such as myself, there can be nothing more important than passing on ancient skills, helping hone young minds. If I remember correctly, you once saw the attraction of teaching too."

Orion held in a frown as he inspected the younger Dumbledore; the wizard's answer didn't sound too convincing to his ears, he wondered if there wasn't any underlying reason...

"I see it still," said Voldemort. "I merely wondered why you, who are so often asked for advice by the Ministry, and who have twice, I think, been offered the post of Minister-"

"Three times at the last count, actually," said Dumbledore. "But the Ministry never attracted me as a career. Again, something we have in common, I think."

Voldemort inclined his head, unsmiling, and took another sip of wine. Dumbledore did not break the silence that stretched between them now, but waited, with a look of pleasant expectancy, for Voldemort to talk first.

"I have returned," he said, after a little while, "later, perhaps, than Professor Dippet expected... but I have returned, nevertheless, to request again what he once told me I was too young to have. I have come to you to ask that you permit me to return to this castle, to teach. I think you must know that I have seen and done much since I left this place. I could show and tell your students things they can gain from no other wizard."

Dumbledore considered Voldemort over the top of his own goblet for a while before speaking.

"Yes, I certainly do know that you have seen and done much since leaving us," he said quietly. "Rumors of your doings have reached your old school, Tom. I should be sorry to believe half of them."

Voldemort's expression remained impassive as he said, "Greatness inspires envy, envy engenders spite, spite spawns lies. You must know this, Dumbledore."

Orion inwardly grinned; that was just so 'Voldemortish'.

"You call it 'greatness,' what you have been doing, do you?" asked Dumbledore delicately.

"Certainly," said Voldemort, and his eyes seemed to burn red. "I have experimented; I have pushed the boundaries of magic further, perhaps, than they have ever been pushed-"

"Of some kinds of magic," Dumbledore corrected him quietly. "Of some. Of others, you remain... forgive me... woefully ignorant."

Orion held in a scoff. The same could be said about Dumbledore and his refusal to consider the Dark Arts as a discipline of knowledge and magic worthy of being learned and preserved.

Then, for the first time, Voldemort smiled. It was a taut leer, an evil thing, more threatening than a look of rage, and Orion had to force himself to remain impassive as a shiver ran down his spine; it was a shiver of pleasure and longing, for he couldn't help feeling those things whenever Voldemort turned darker and more dangerous.

By Merlin, Orion had to admit to himself, that only Voldemort managed to thrill and arouse him in that way. He always felt a spike of smoldering lust when Voldemort became threatening, and that feeling only seemed to have intensified after their bonding ceremony, though luckily it had been a while since he had had a major confrontation with his spouse. He would never admit it, of course, but he sometimes missed their bouts of violent quarrels; their relationship had cooled off, each of them with other things on their minds… He missed it so much…

Orion cleared his head, annoyed at himself, and glanced back at the scene before him.

"The old argument," said Voldemort softly. "But nothing I have seen in the world has supported your famous pronouncements that love is more powerful than my kind of magic, Dumbledore."

"Perhaps you have been looking in the wrong places," suggested Dumbledore.

"Well, then, what better place to start my fresh researches than here, at Hogwarts?" said Voldemort. "Will you let me return? Will you let me share my knowledge with your students? I place myself and my talents at your disposal. I am yours to command."

Orion stared at him with surprise; this was something Voldemort had never told him about. Why would the wizard want to become a teacher? It made no sense.

"And what will become of those whom you command?" said Dumbledore with a raised eyebrow. "What will happen to those who call themselves - or so rumor has it - the Death Eaters?"

Orion could tell that Voldemort had not expected Dumbledore to know this name; he saw Voldemort's eyes flash red again and the slit-like nostrils flare.

"My friends," he said, after a moment's pause, "will carry on without me, I am sure."

"I am glad to hear that you consider them friends," said Dumbledore. "I was under the impression that they are more in the order of servants."

"You are mistaken," said Voldemort.

"Then if I were to go to the Hog's Head tonight, I would not find a group of them - Nott, Rosier, Mulciber, Dolohov - awaiting your return? Devoted friends indeed, to travel this far with you on a snowy night, merely to wish you luck as you attempted to secure a teaching post."

There could be no doubt that Dumbledore's detailed knowledge of those with whom he was traveling was even less welcome to Voldemort; however, he rallied almost at once.

"You are omniscient as ever, Dumbledore."

"Oh no, merely friendly with the local barmen," said Dumbledore lightly, though Orion quickly filed away that information for he hadn't known that the weird, old wizard of Hog's Head was Dumbledore's friend - a member of the Order nowadays, perhaps?

"Now, Tom…" Dumbledore set down his empty glass and drew himself up in his seat, the tips of his fingers together in a very characteristic gesture. "Let us speak openly. Why have you come here tonight, surrounded by henchmen, to request a job we both know you do not want?"

Voldemort looked coldly surprised. "A job I do not want? On the contrary, Dumbledore, I want it very much."

"Oh, you want to come back to Hogwarts, but you do not want to teach any more than you wanted to when you were eighteen. What is it you're after, Tom? Why not try an open request for once?"

Voldemort sneered. "If you do not want to give me a job -"

"Of course I don't," said Dumbledore. "And I don't think for a moment you expected me to. Nevertheless, you came here, you asked, you must have had a purpose."

And Orion agreed with the man, Voldemort's request was strange. But then he saw Voldemort's gaze flicker to some point on the wall; it was imperceptible, in a fraction of a second, and he had only caught it because he was very familiarized with Voldemort.

He looked around, wondering what Voldemort had glanced at, and his eyes suddenly caught sight of something he had never paid much attention to.

Voldemort stood up. He looked less like Tom Riddle than ever, his features thick with rage. "This is your final word?"

"It is," said Dumbledore, also standing.

"Then we have nothing more to say to each other."

"No, nothing," said Dumbledore, and a great sadness filled his face. "The time is long gone when I could frighten you with a burning wardrobe and force you to make repayment for your crimes. But I wish I could, Tom... I wish I could..."

Orion felt a flare of indignation in Voldemort's behalf; the old coot could pretend to be as sad as he wanted but he had certainly never done anything to offer Tom a way out of becoming Voldemort. The old man's prejudices and dislike for dark wizards had never allowed him to consider helping Tom. And threats about making Voldemort repay for his crimes was evidently not the way to go.

For a second, Orion felt a frisson of cheering anticipation when he saw Voldemort's hand twitch toward his pocket and his wand; but then the moment passed, Voldemort had turned away, the door was closing, and he was gone.

Orion felt Dumbledore's hand close over his arm again and moments later, they were standing together on almost the same spot, but there was no snow building on the window ledge.

"Why?" said Orion at once, looking up into Dumbledore's face. "Why did he come back? Did you ever find out?"

"I have ideas," said Dumbledore, "but no more than that."

"What ideas, sir?" pressed on Orion, since he was fairly certain that the old man knew exactly why; if he had caught Voldemort's glance during his first view of the memory, Dumbledore had certainly detected it after seeing the memory several times.

"I shall tell you, Orion, when you have retrieved that memory from Professor Slughorn," said Dumbledore. "When you have that last piece of the jigsaw, everything will, I hope, be clear... to both of us."

Orion felt a spike of anger and even though Dumbledore had walked to the door and was holding it open for him, he did not move at once.

"Was he after the Defense Against the Dark Arts job again, sir? He didn't say..."

"Oh, he definitely wanted the Defense Against the Dark Arts job," said Dumbledore. "The aftermath of our little meeting proved that. You see, we have never been able to keep a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher for longer than a year since I refused the post to Lord Voldemort."

The old wizard held the door open wider for him, evidently indicating that he was dismissed, but Orion didn't bother to acknowledge it, and he glanced around the office.

Finally, he caught sight of it, though it was in a different place than where it had been in the memory, and he purposely strode to stand in front of an obscured glass recipient imbedded into one of the walls of the office.

He felt powerful wards protecting the glass case, and he stared at the object inside, at what Voldemort had glanced towards; it was a beautiful sword with a handle gleaming with rubies of the size of eggs, and he stifled a gasp when he saw 'Godric Gryffindor' engraved below the hilt.

"This is what he wanted," said Orion quietly, his gaze never leaving the sword. "One of the reasons, at least, of why he wanted to be in Hogwarts for a while." He cocked his head to a side as he examined it further. "No doubt that Voldemort wanted to steal it and use it to make a horcrux."

He raised a hand to touch the glass pane when, abruptly, Dumbledore gently caught his wrist.

"I wouldn't touch it if I were you," said the old wizard calmly. "It's heavily protected."

Orion dropped his hand, and cocked an eyebrow. "Why? You have a lot of valuable artifacts in your office-" he glanced pointedly at the swirling and wheezing objects on the wizard's desk "- yet none of them are warded. What makes this heirloom so special?"

"It's a masterpiece of goblin-work," said Dumbledore, "made by Ragnuk the First."

"It's not a horcrux, is it?" said Orion, gazing back at it, though he knew the answer already; he didn't feel any strange pull towards it, as it happened with the other horcruxes.

"It isn't," replied Dumbledore, "but I believe that you're right in suspecting that one of Voldemort's reasons for petitioning the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts was to take a hold of it."

Orion imperceptively shivered; the sword held powerful magic, he felt it tingling on his skin, even through the warded glass panes.

"What can it do?" he said quietly, further inspecting the sword, itching to touch it.

"Nothing too extraordinary," said Dumbledore dismissively, with a small smile. "Now, I hope you'll instantly inform me when you manage to retrieve Professor Slughorn's memory."

Orion felt a surge of irritation at the old wizard's persistence in keeping him as ignorant as possible, but he nodded politely and made his way out, his mind spinning.

As he ambled along the corridors, making his way back to Gryffindor Tower, he wracked his brain to remember each time he had seen the sword, for it was clear that it was important if Dumbledore refused to tell him more about it right away.

He had never paid close attention to it, but it had been there every time he had visited Dumbledore's office, yet…

Orion frowned and bit his lower lip. Yet, the first time he had ever seen it had been when he had broken into Dumbledore's office in his fourth year, and he remembered seeing the sword but not in the same place, and certainly not with such powerful wards guarding it.

It was clear that, since then, Dumbledore had thought it important to protect it further. But why? Certainly not only because it was a heirloom. The old wizard had other priceless artifacts innocently lying around his office with no protection at all.

No, for some reason, the sword had become important as of lately. And he knew it wasn't a horcrux… so, why?

Orion fiercely rubbed his forehead, thinking hard. It was a matter of timing. The sword was important to Dumbledore now, as it hadn't been before… And the difference between now and then was…

He blinked and halted in his tracks. Of course, the difference was Dumbledore's quest to find and destroy all the horcruxes. So if the sword wasn't a horcrux, it could only mean…

His eyes widened with shocked surprise. It could only mean that the sword was powerful enough to destroy a horcrux!

He stifled a gasp. Merlin's beard, why had he never thought about that before? He snorted, and continued his way. Well, he knew why, he never had the serious intention of destroying any horcruxes so he hadn't bothered in thinking how it could be done.

Orion shook his head in befuddled startlement. It was quite astounding that the sword was powerful enough to destroy a horcrux. He knew perfectly well how horcruxes were created and all the protective enchantments that went with it. He had the book written by Sylvester Slytherin –courtesy of his childhood tutor Ragnarok and of the recently murdered Gregorovitch, both of them part of the Aux – and he had read it extensively a long while ago, when he had been knowledgeable enough to understand it.

So he knew that a horcrux couldn't be simply flung against a wall and broken; if a wild pack of hippogriffs stomped on a horcurx, it wouldn't even dent it. A horcrux could only be utterly destroyed by its original maker, or, logically, but a magical artifact powerful enough. A Light magical artifact, he corrected himself; in this instance, only light magic could overcome the intense dark magic of a horcrux.

But it perplexed him nonetheless. The sword had been made by goblins but it was clear that Godric Gryffindor had to be the one to infuse the artifact with magic. Had the Founder done it knowing what Slytherin had been researching? Knowing that his former best friend had found a way of anchoring his soul to this plane, and thus, the Founder had infused his sword with the magic necessary to destroy something which was an abomination to his eyes?

Yes, it could be, or perhaps some Gryffindor descendant had done it later, when Slytherin's grandson, Sylvester, had completed the research on horcruxes...

He shook his head; that wasn't important. What mattered was what to do about it. Should he try to steal the sword so that Dumbledore wouldn't have that means to destroy a horcrux? But then, if the sword was suddenly stolen, it would be too obvious; Dumbledore would suspect him right away…

Orion heavily sighed. No, he wouldn't do anything unless it was necessary in the future. He had enough to worry about. He would simply keep the sword in mind...

And what about his first concern; Trelawney's prediction?

He shook his head, swiftly deciding that he had to cast Trelawney's prediction into the deepest pit of his mind. Prophecies and predictions could pile on him as much as they liked, he was not going to allow them to influence his decisions or dictate his life; not when they kept foretelling nasty things coming his way.

Someone could have very well predicted that he was going to be a happy little bugger, couldn't they?!

Orion huffed with angry indignation as he stomped along a corridor, unwittingly frightening some wandering second year Hufflepuff who yelped and scurried away.

Trelawney's Inner Eye could very well obsess over someone else, instead of being insistently infatuated with him. He was tired of it!

Good, he wouldn't think about it; he had already decided to become the VA, and that was it - no turning back.

Nevertheless, now one thing was clear to him; no matter what Dumbledore suspected about his true allegiances, the old wizard had some reason to believe that he would turn to him, and that he would side with him, in the end.

He grumbled with troubled wariness. He could hardly ask Dumbledore, but - why? Why would Dumbledore be so certain about that, given all that the wizard must suspect about him?

Feeling deeply frustrated, reaching no conclusion, he carded his fingers through his hair, before pulling a carefree expression on his face when he said the password to the Fat Lady and entered the Gryffindor common room.

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Standing in the path that led to Sølvanghøj, outside Durmstrang's wards, Orion fastened his hooded cloak tighter around him while he plucked an elegant, silver bracelet from one pocket.

It was Saturday night, and he had surreptitiously left Durmstrang castle after spending some idle time with his friends after supper. As usual these days, Viktor had been absent from the sixth years' common room, surely being occupied with Titania somewhere, and Orion had been engaged in trivial chatter with Evander and Kara, since Calypso hardly said a word to anyone nowadays. He had long stopped his attempts to draw her in to their conversations, leaving her in peace, as he had promised her.

Though, he still worried about her, and he still felt a pang of hurt whenever he gazed at her pale and withdrawn face, her eyes sometimes finding his but refusing to disclose anything.

Orion had to admit that he missed her terribly, that he yearned to have her companionably lying on his bed with one arm draped around her while they quietly discussed matters, as they used to do before. He longed to have his best friend and most trusted confidant back, to tell her about all the good and terrible things he had discovered since their estrangement, to listen to her opinion and advice –since he still had many things to plan.

And by Merlin that it hurt every time he casually tried to hug her and she skittered away from him, shooting him an apologetic and sorrowful glance before scurrying away to her dorm to study.

She had left an emptiness in him that not even Luna could fill, since Calypso had always been the one person who knew him best and the one person who had always stood by him, no matter what.

Yet, however much it pained him, he was keeping his end of the bargain, and he was leaving her alone.

Orion sighed and pulled away from his despondent thoughts, while he glanced around to make sure that he was alone.

He clutched the bracelet tighter, and whispered, "Pierrefonds."

After an inexorable pull around his body and a swirl of meshing colors, his feet landed on the ground. The sky was dark and filled with sparkling stars, and he was once again standing before one of the most beautiful castles he had ever seen; though there were no muggle tourists snapping photos and entering the castle this time – it was too late at night.

He swiftly strode towards the entrance, crossing the archway and taking the steps, feeling magical wards tingling on his skin. Quickly, he smoothened his cloak with one hand, before knocking on the grand door.

Instantly, the door cracked open, and a small dignified house-elf, dressed in a petite frack coat, peeped outside.

Orion recognized him from before, and he said quietly, "Phillipe, je veux voir Sebastien."

The house-elf didn't seem to be in a very amenable mood, since he simply grumbled something about late hours and lack of consideration, and opened the door wider, before turning around and bustling along the wide hallway, the frack tails trailing on the marble floor.

Orion closed the door behind him and shrugged off his cloak, hanging it on a perch by the entrance, before making sure that his formal, dark green robes were wrinkle-free and properly arranged. Grindelwald had drilled into his skull that he always had to dress smart to appear magnificent and worthy of respect, especially when dealing with supporters and allies.

He heard a whistling of appreciation and he spun around, seeing Sebastien striding towards him with a charming smile on his face, the wizard's hazel gaze travelling over him. As usual, the French wizard looked princely in his light blue robes, and appeared to be in a friendly, mischievous mood.

"Iz zat for my benefit?" said Sebastien, looking pointedly at Orion's rich robes, a wicked smile on his face. "I'm flattered, but it wazn't necezzary, mon cher, I rather zee you without any robes at all."

Orion snorted and offered his hand in greeting. "We're here to talk business, so I dressed accordingly, Bastien."

"Buzinezz? Non, nothing zo boring az zat," said Sebastien pleasantly, disregarding the offered hand and wrapping an arm over Orion's shoulders, pulling him towards the main parlor while his gaze unabashedly inspected him closely, a smirk on his face. "It haz been a long time, but I'm happy to zee zat you look even more gorgeouz zan I remembered, mon petite."

Orion rolled his eyes. "Yeah, thanks." He side-glanced at him, and added with a small smile, "I'm glad to see you too, Bastien. The last time I saw you was in my bonding ceremony, but regrettably I don't have much time-"

"Nonzenze," interrupted Sebastien, waving a hand dismissively. "Zere iz always time to spend wiz a good friend, and we are good friends, non?"

"I don't know," said Orion cocking an eyebrow, as they entered the grand and elegant parlor. "Are we?"

Sebastien halted his strides, and glanced at him, chuckling. "Of courze we are!" He shot him a devilish grin. "It doezn't matter if you choze to attach yourzelf to zat nasty wizard, I still conzider you my friend." He grasped Orion's hand, pulling him down on a plush, XV century chaise lounge, and added with a wink, "And I hope you'll alwayz regard me az a friend az well."

"Yes, why not," said Orion coolly, glancing around him.

The room was the same as he remembered. There were several couches and tea tables, with the grand piano and harp on one corner, the walls covered by sky blue silk damask, with fleur-de-lis sparely engraved here and there, narrow light gray stripes marking the doors and windows, and several beautiful sculptures perched on column-like pedestals, while everything was illuminated by sparkling chandeliers hanging high up from the ceilings.

He glanced back at Sebastien, and caught him unawares; the French wizard was intently observing him, his expression troubled, before he cleared it from his face and broadly smiled at him in a carefree manner.

"Ah," said Orion, nonchalantly stretching back on the chaise lounge, "so many masks, Bastien, even between 'friends'. And you expect me to believe that everything stands the same between us? Even after I became Voldemort's spouse and after I decided to break away from the spirits, which you surely know about given that you're an Aux-"

Abruptly, Sebastien tightly clutched Orion's hands, and whispered sharply, bringing his face inches away from his, "Do you want me to take you away, Orion? You know zat nobody would find you in ze Lago Di Como Villa-"

"What are you talking about?" said Orion, startled. "Why would I want you to take me away?"

"Why?" hissed out Sebastien, a look of intense frustration on his face. Abruptly, he stood up and gazed down at him, his voice clipped, "Becauze you have irrevocably complicated matters, mon cher. I told you zat you shouldn't bond wiz ze Dark Lord, and now-"

"And now I am my own person," snapped Orion, remaining seated though leveling the towering wizard with a glare. "You wrote saying that I had to see you as soon as possible, so let's cut through the chit-chat, what's so important-"

"Oui," cut in Sebastien, angrily swatting away a curl of dark blonde hair from his face, "let'z cut through ze chit-chat." His light hazel eyes narrowed at Orion, and he said sharply, "Did you ever zeriously conzider my propozal?"

Orion blinked at him, before groaning and rubbing his forehead. "What – your offer of marriage, Bastien? Is that what all this is about? It's a bit too late for that, isn't it?"

"It'z not too late," said Sebastien fiercely, tightly gripping Orion's wrists to pull them away, as he pierced him with a hard glint in his eyes. "It'z not too late if you want out. And I'm in a pozition to give you zat."

"If I want out from what?" interjected Orion with exasperation, jerking his wrists free from the wizard's grasp. "From my marriage with the Dark Lord? No, I don't want out from that, Bastien-"

"Out from ze path you've taken," interrupted Sebastien sharply, his expression annoyed and frustrated. "Away from danger, now zat you've turned ze spirits against you, and away from ze perils zat will threaten you if you persist on becoming ze Vindico without zeir support and without being truly prepared, zince you're too stupidly stubborn to realize zat ze only pozzible way you'll succeed is if you kill your beloved Dark Lord!"

Orion gazed at him with a deep frown on his face. "Wait – how can you speak to me so openly about the VA and the spirits if you're bounded by a vow of secrecy?"

"But zings are changing, aren't zey?" said Sebastien shortly, crossing his arms over his chest. "You know Komorov, oui? You know zat Roman iz ze Aux leader now." Orion nodded, and the French wizard continued, now tightly smirking at him. "Well, I've risen in ze ranks too, I'm hiz right hand, if you will, and az such, I'm no longer bounded to ze more restrictive measures of ze vow I took as an Aux of ze lower echelons of our hierarchy. Everything has started to change now zat Vagnarov can no longer be ze leader. Ze young taking over ze older Aux, as it inevitably has to happen at zome point. Changes of allegiances and power shifts within ze Aux are happening; and zat's why I'm offering you a way out, now zat I can, before you get in too deep."

"Wait a minute," said Orion, shaking his head as he stood up, before he pierced the wizard with a sharp, demanding gaze. "What are you telling me, that you and other Aux don't want me to become the Vindico?"

"I don't want you to keep following ze path to become ze Vindico," said Sebastien in clipped tones, "if you're not fully committed to it. Of course zat I want someone to become ze VA eventually, but it doesn't have to be you if you don't want it. And now is your last chanze to turn back-"

"I don't want to turn back," snapped Orion impatiently, "and I am fully committed-"

Sebastien scoffed. "But you refuze to kill ze Dark Lord, oui? Zat's not being fully committed, mon cher."

"Listen to me," said Orion sharply, taking a step to stand inches away from him, "how I go about it is my business, but I am fully committed to become the Vindico. That you, the rest of the Aux Atrum, and the spirits see no other way for me to do it without killing Voldemort, doesn't mean that there isn't another way!"

"Ah, oui, by becoming a Necromanzer, right?" snapped Sebastien, scowling at him. "And how iz THAT a good idea?"

"It seems that you're kept well informed now that you're the Aux's second in command," said Orion coolly, smirking at him. "Good for you, my friend. And yes, that's exactly what I intend to do. And I don't see why you oppose it, since I'm positively certain that it's exactly what the spirits want me to do."

"Precizely," hissed out Sebastien, his eyes narrowing, "zat's what ze spirits want you to do and you're falling in zeir plans. On ze other hand, I don't want you to become a Necromanzer becauze I know what will happen to you-"

"And you care for me," said Orion, with a snide snort, "is that it?"

"Oui!" snapped Sebastien heatedly, glaring at him. "Zat's exactly why I'm offering you a way out-"

"You're suggesting that I flee to your Villa, Bastien," cut in Orion, in a steely tone of voice. "That won't solve anything, since I have many things to do and since I want to become the Vindico. You're offering me an escape, and I don't want to escape from anything. Not to mention that even if I wanted to escape, I couldn't because of the bloody pull of my dark magic-"

"I could find a solution for zat," interrupted Sebastien sternly. "I'm sure zere are potions to diminish ze intenzity of one's dark magic-"

"And then I would do what, for Merlin's sake?" said Orion with exasperation. "Lull around your Villa like a useless lump of a wizard? Doing nothing, with my magic muted, while wars are raged in the wizarding world? I think not!"

Abruptly, Sebastien tightly grasped Orion's chin, pulling his face inches away from his, and he hissed out, "Zen, if you truly want to become ze Vindico, do it properly, mon cher. Kill Grindelwald, kill ze Dark Lord, and stop playing around. Your time is running short and ze longer you take ze more dangerouz it will be for you-"

"Dangerous?" said Orion crisply, narrowing his eyes at him. "The only danger I face is to die if I don't survive the VA test, or to go mad if I don't eventually attempt it."

Sebastien scoffed, before arching an eyebrow. "Do you truly think zat's it? Do you truly think zat no one will threaten you and zat you'll rise unopposed?"

"What are you talking about, Bastien?" said Orion, deeply frowning at him. "Other wizards, threatening me?" He snorted. "The Order of the Phoenix and Dumbledore?"

"To name a few," said Sebastien sharply, "and you shouldn't undereztimate-"

"I never underestimate others," interrupted Orion, piercing him with his eyes. "But, as far as I know, no light wizard knows about the VA, so how could they represent a danger?"

"Zey'll eventually find out when you get clozer to your aim," said Sebastien sternly, "and zere's no way of discerning how much Dumbledoor really knows. Circe knows zat we have Aux spying on him wherever we can, but zat wizard is a sly one, mon cher, and he's on ze move; he has been for a very long while. But I'm not only talking about light wizards, I'm also referring to ze dark wizards who will oppose you all ze way until you become ze Vindico, because dark wizarding kind won't follow you until zen, unless you count with ze spirits' support. And since at present you don't, ze Aux can do nothing to protect or help you."

"How can dark wizards know if the spirits support me or not?" said Orion, frowning at him. "No one, but the Aux, knows about them."

Sebastien smirked at him, his hazel eyes glinting. "Ah, but ze spirits have always planned on doing zeir grand apparition before ze masses. Zey've never done it before, of courze, but zey will when zey are certain zat ze candidate will succeed, and zey have to do it before ze candidate undergoes ze ultimate test. It is zen, when zey'll disclose zeir existence. Imagine it, Morgana and Mordred appearing before masses of congregated dark wizards, proclaiming zat zeir task is done and zat ze prophet of dark wizarding kind's legends has finally arisen, telling zem zat zeir prophesied prophet is no other zan ze one who can become ze Vindico. Can you imagine ze impact it would have, mon cher, how it would change everything, causing global shifts of power and allegiances?"

Orion gaped at him with wide eyes, his mind spinning as he whispered, "I had no idea that they were planning on doing that-"

"Zey are," interrupted Sebastien sharply, "but only when zey're absolutely certain about ze candidate. When zey know zat ze candidate has all ze Hallows and zat he's powerful enough to zurvive the VA test; power, zat at present, you don't have becauze you haven't killed Grindelwald or ze Dark Lord. And if you're truly zincere in your wish to become ze Vindico, zen you must kill zem and you must gain ze spirits' support again, zince without zeir open proclamation, few would believe zat you're ze prophet."

Orion dazedly shook his head. "I don't understand you, Bastien. You tell me to run away from it, and that you don't want me to follow their plans to become a Necromancer, yet now you tell me that I have to regain their support?"

"I told you to ezcape, mon cher," said Sebastien quietly, his fingers releasing Orion's chin to caress Orion's nape, "if you weren't fully committed to become ze Vindico. Zen, you could do whatever you wished az long az you stayed away. But if you truly want to become ze Vindico, what I'm telling you is zat you'll need ze spirits and zat you'll need ze Aux. I might not agree wiz ze spirits' way of doing things, or ze way zey've manipulated you, but I admit zat without zeir show of support –which is meant to be impactful and spectacular, since zey will reveal zeir existence and disclose what zey have been attempting to create all zis time- zen dark wizarding kind will not follow you so eazily, and you'll encounter more opposition zan necessary. Not to mention, zat if ze spirits openly zupport you - if you become powerful enough to zurvive ze VA test- zen ze Aux will be able to become your Inner Circle, and we'll be able to help you and protect you." He pierced his light hazel eyes into Orion's, and said in a low voice, his fingers still carding through the back of Orion's head, "We'll be able to protect you from wizards who will want you dead because of ze threat you represent to zem. I'm not only speaking about powerful light wizards, mon cher, but also about other dark wizards, for instance, your Dark Lord-"

Orion jerked his head away from Sebastien's lulling caress, and he hissed sharply, "I won't need protection from him."

"Are you truly zat deluded?" snapped Sebastien with angry exasperation. "Do you really think zat Lord Voldemort will do nothing while you snatch away supporters, while you steal ze power base from him?" He inched his face to Orion's, and said harshly, "When you threaten his pozition as ze leader of ze Dark, he'll kill you without a thought!"

"There's much you don't know about him and me," said Orion, through gritted teeth. "I'm his-"

"His spouze?" snapped Sebastien, his eyes flashing with anger. "Zat will mean nothing to him!"

Orion mutely shook his head, since he couldn't tell him that he was Voldemort's horcrux, though he admitted that if Voldemort was furious enough –or madly insane enough when confronted with the possibility of losing supporters and his leadership- then that wouldn't matter much to the wizard either...

Feeling the start of a pounding headache, he fiercely rubbed his forehead.

"He'll kill you," said Sebastien quietly, "and for even more reazon if ze spirits hail you as ze prophet. Zat's why I, and ze rest of ze Aux, insist zat you must kill him first, as zoon as pozzible-"

"I can deal with him," interrupted Orion, dropping his hands away from his face as he glared at the French wizard. "I don't need the Aux's protection from him, because IF he makes a move against me, then I'll be perfectly able to defend myself."

"Oui, to defend yourzelf," snapped Sebastien with irritation, "but will you be able to kill him? You haven't done anyzing contemplating zat pozzibility; you haven't destroyed any of his horcruxez-"

"I see," hissed Orion incensed, narrowing his eyes at him, "that the spirits have told you much."

Sebastien waved a hand dismissively. "Zey recently informed Komorov about the horcruxez, and he told me." He pierced him with his light hazel eyes, and added sharply, "Zey told us because zey doubt zat you're strong enough to destroy ze artifacts yourzelf; and I'm not talking about magical strength, I'm talking about guts."

"Listen to me, Bastien," bit out Orion angrily, clutching the wizard's collar, "if one of you dares to destroy one of his horcruxes, I'll make you pay, you hear? His soul is fractioned and split into bits, but it's still complete and I won't have you destroy it!"

"Non, zat will be your job," said Sebastien sharply, "I'm only here to remind you of it, and to tell you zat ze Aux will resort to dezperate meazures if you don't act. If you don't start destroying horcruxez, zen, eventually, we'll do it. Though, of courze, we'll leave ze last one –Him- to you, zince it's you who has ze capacity of abzorbing his dark magic once you kill him."

Orion's jaw clenched with fury, and he said through gritted teeth, while he tightened his grasp on the wizard, "You tell the Aux not to meddle with his horcruxes, Bastien. By Merlin that I'll kill any of you who destroys one-"

"Zere's no need of zat," cut in Sebastien, "if you start gathering and destroying zem-"

"Oh, I'll gather them, alright," snapped Orion angrily, "just to make sure that you and the Aux keep your claws away from them. I'm not kidding about this, Bastien. I don't care how 'desperate' the Aux become while I do things my own way, while I become the VA in the manner I see fit, because in the meantime, I'll strike back if you threaten him, and that obviously includes threatening to destroy pieces of his soul!"

Sebastien drew up to his full height, wrenching away from Orion's grasp, and said quietly, his face holding a hint of regret, "You're a fool, mon cher. Zis iz exactly why I told you to never bond wiz him, becauze I knew zat you wouldn't kill him if you became his spouze, becauze I knew zat you would zuffer when confronted wiz ze reality zat ze only way you'll zucceed is if you kill him. But you wouldn't listen-"

"I listened and I disagreed," snapped Orion crisply, eyeing him with hint of contempt mingled with pained disappointment. "What's happened to you, Bastien? I liked you much better when you were just one more Aux, and not Komorov's right hand. You've changed."

"I haven't changed," said Sebastien quietly, his expression marginally softening as he gazed back at him. "I'm ztill trying to help you. I'm ztill trying to make you zee what'z best for you."

"Yes, perhaps you think you're helping me," said Orion grimly, "but my point is that you weren't this ruthless before. Before, you would have understood me better. And I don't need a friend who simply wants to push me into murdering my spouse. I need a friend who helps me do things the way I want, not the way others dictate. Because I'm through with that; I'm through with allowing others, like the spirits, to manipulate me as if I were their puppet. Now, I'm doing things my own way, and it might be harder and it might take me longer, but at least I'll know that I will have tried my best to spare killing someone I care for."

Sebastien's jaw clenched, and he snapped with angered frustration, "You're making zings harder, and endangering yourzelf in the procezz, just to spare zomeone who would kill you if he knew what you can become!"

"Do you think that I'm not aware of that possibility!" spat Orion incensed. "I know how he is, I know that he could become so insanely infuriated that he would kill me, thinking he wouldn't regret it afterwards, but he would. He would regret it; it would pain and crush him when he realized-"

"Zat, if it's to be believed," snarled Sebastien, fiercely clutching Orion's chin, bringing him close, "doezn't change ze fact zat he would kill you first and regret it later, when it's uzeless to do so!"

"I know that, I'm not a deluded idiot!" snapped Orion heatedly. "But I want to give him a chance, because he deserves it and no one has ever given him a chance before! Everyone has always prejudged him, acting according to their own perceptions of him, and they have ruined him! And it's not fair. He deserves a chance to prove how he would act, before I move against him just to follow your preconceived notions of what his reaction will be. You, the Aux, the spirits, and Grindelwald, all of you believe that he would kill me, but I won't act against him until he's proven that he's capable of truly hurting me in a serious way, now that we're spouses and that he knows that I want to be with him!"

Sebastien's angry heaves of breath slowed down, and he gently released Orion's chin, saying quietly as he intently bore his eyes into Orion's, "Fine, you win, mon cher; give your spouze a chanze. But, at least, gather ze horcruxez, just to be prepared."

"I'll gather them if they come my way," said Orion, in between haggard pants as he cooled down, "but I won't actively seek them, because I have no time to spare on another task." He pierced the French wizard with a hard gaze, and added sharply, "I won't destroy any horcruxes in my power, either. They'll simply be a security net. And I want your Wizard's Oath that the Aux won't seek to destroy his horcruxes."

"I can't give you a Wizard's Oath," said Sebastien, shaking his head, "but I'll inform you if, or when, ze Aux decide to take zat courze of action."

"Bastien-"

"I can offer you nothing better, in zat regard," interjected Sebastien, intently gazing back at him.

"Fine, whatever," grumbled Orion, glaring at him.

Sebastien deeply sighed, before he swiftly seized Orion's arm, pulling him back to the chaise lounge.

"I won't stay," said Orion stiffly, attempting to jerk his arm free as he stood away. "I must get back to-"

"Pleaze, stay a bit longer," said Sebastien, insistently pulling him down as he sat down, "I don't want us to part when we're still angry at each other. I didn't want it to go zis way; it hadn't been my intention to quarrel."

Due to the wizard's persistent grasp, Orion momentarily lost his balance and ended plopping down beside him, rubbing his forehead as his headache came back with full force.

"You've inextricably entangled and complicated everyzing," said Sebastien, smirking at him, "you know, wiz your stubbornnezz of doing zings your own way."

"Can you blame me for wanting to be free from everyone's clutches?" shot back Orion, side-glancing at him, still rubbing his forehead.

"I guezz not," said Sebastien nonchalantly, before he devilishly smirked at him. "You have a headache, I zee. I could help you wiz zat; I've been told zat I'm deliciously superb at giving mazzages."

Orion dropped his hands away from his forehead and pressed back on the chaise lounge, eyeing the wizard as he said coolly, "I wonder how many masks you wear around me, Bastien. Is this the true you or are you just playing a part for me?"

Briefly, a flash of hurt crossed the wizard's light hazel eyes before it quickly disappeared, and Sebastien said sharply, "I have no need to be other than myzelf around you. I've always treated you wiz complete honesty, ze problem iz zat sometimes you don't like what I have to zay. And if it's so torturouz for you, you can leave, and I'll never bother to help you again."

"No, I think I'll stay for a while," said Orion impassively, stretching and relaxing on the chaise lounge, though that did little to mollify his headache or to help him figure out the French wizard. He shot him a small smile. "Would you play for me, Bastien?"

Sebastien arched an eyebrow, before he smirked and stood up, swiftly approaching the grand ballroom piano.

"Cloze your eyes and listen to ze muzic, it might help eaze your headache," said the French wizard, shooting him a charming smile, as his long fingers started to skillfully strike the keys, a soft, romantic melody filling the vast room.

Orion nodded and obeyed, feeling exhausted after their argument and after having spent some previous hours in one of Grindelwald's grueling lessons. With his eyes closed, the music seemed to cocoon around him, lulling him into languid and comfortable relaxedness.

But he still couldn't get out of his mind the things Sebastien had said, and slowly, he stood up and approached the wizard, leaning on the piano as he observed him.

Sebastien had his eyes closed, with an expression of true, tranquil enjoyment and a small placid smile on his face, which made him look even more handsome and charming, while he was softly humming the melody his fingers were skillfully playing on the piano.

"You play beautifully," said Orion quietly as he observed him, suddenly feeling a warm fondness for the wizard.

The French wizard hummed, keeping his eyes closed as he enjoyed the music he was producing, and experimentally, with curiosity, Orion brought his fingers to the wizard's nape and started to slowly trail them over the wizard's VA mark, feeling a thrum of magic when he made contact.

Sebastian felt… his… as if he had some claim to him. It was what he had felt towards Roman Komorov, when he had touched the wizard's mark, only stronger and more intense, probably because he liked Sebastien more and because he knew the French wizard better.

He felt Sebastien shiver under his touch, and Orion allowed a bit of his magic to pleasantly rush into the wizard's mark, while he got closer and asked quietly, "You truly wanted to help me, didn't you?"

"Yes, I wasn't zure if you wanted to become ze Vindico," said Sebastien, his voice a bit hitched, "so I wanted to give you an alternative – a way out. And I alzo wanted to make you zee zat you had to gather ze horcruxes - maybe just in case, as you zay; but it'z important zat you're prepared, nonetheless. I didn't know about zem before – I didn't know what a horcrux was or zat killing ze Dark Lord waz so complicated, so I wanted you to start acting."

"Were you angry because I became Voldemort's spouse when you had already offered me the same?"

"Angry? Non," replied Sebastien, "but I waz deeply dizappointed – hurt, even."

Orion narrowed his eyes, but kept his voice soft and pleasant, as he infused Sebastien's mark with some more of his magic, feeling him shiver again under his caress. "Tell me, did you contemplate the possibility that I could become your spouse if I killed Voldemort? Is that another reason why you favor so much the idea of me killing him?"

Sebastien cracked open his hazel eyes, stared at him, and said straightforwardly, "Yes."

Orion's lips tightened but he nodded in acceptance; Sebastien had attended Beauxbatons, but he knew that the wizard was dark and sly, he wasn't dealing with a Hufflepuff, after all.

He kept caressing the wizard's nape, with soft, lulling motions, and said quietly, "How many Aux know about Voldemort's horcruxes?"

"Only Roman and me," replied Sebastien, who continued relaxedly playing the piano, now his eyes closed again in deep contentment.

Orion inwardly sighed with relief; the fewer who knew the better.

He kept caressing the wizard's nape, and said quietly, "Do you know if the spirits are influencing some of my friends? Draco Malfoy or…" His eyes narrowed when he was struck by a possibility. "Or Calypso Rosier, perhaps?"

"Non, I don't know," said Sebastien, his voice breathless as Orion continued to pour a bit more of his magic, "but I don't think zey would compel ze Rosier girl, she iz Romulus' daughter and he's one of uz. As for Draco Malfoy… I know zat ze spirits think zat it's not necezzary to compel him. He already…" He cleared his throat, and cracked open his eyes to look at him. "He's already in lo-"

"Yes, I know," interrupted Orion, a slight frown on his face. "But in the same way that you thought that I could become your spouse if I killed Voldemort, the spirits might be planning that I could become Draco's spouse. I know that they want to bring us together in order to produce a powerful heir-"

Sebastien snorted snidely. "Draco Malfoy might carry powerful blood, but he'z not fit to be your partner. He doezn't have what it takes, ezpecially if you become ze Vindico."

"And you do?" said Orion, narrowing his eyes at him. "Or do you simply want me to dispose of Voldemort and become your spouse because of the influence you'll gain?"

"Both," said Sebastien calmly. "I like you, I find you immenzely attractive, and I certainly think zat a match between the Black and Valois Houzes iz highly convenient, but I alzo know zat I'm strong enough to be ze Vindico's partner. I wouldn't crumble under prezzure, as Malfoy would, I could help you accomplish your aims, I would zupport you, and I wouldn't envy or hate you due to your pozition and power, as ze Dark Lord would-"

"Yes, but you forget that the Vindico isn't supposed to have an equal, he isn't supposed to have love," said Orion, frowning at him. "Grindelwald told me-"

"He'z right," interjected Sebastien, "but I'm not talking about being equal to you or about being your loved one, I'm talking about being your partner, clozer to you zan any other follower but without ze restraints of being emotionally involved. Not because I wouldn't want zat, I would, but if you become ze Vindico, you wouldn't be able to feel it; not strong attachments at least, az far az I know. But even knowing zis, I would still want to be your partner."

"Yet, the spirits and Grindelwald think that Draco should be the one," mused Orion aloud. "I sometimes wonder why. He has the blood, certainly, but as you say, he isn't strong enough. He has been too protected by Lucius and Narcissa. But I see why the spirits would consider him a worthy choice, since Draco is being forced to become tougher now that Lucius isn't around. He's being forced to manage on his own, and with a difficult task as well…"

He shook his head, and said crisply, "Yes, I understand why you're still offering to become my partner, and I understand why Grindelwald thinks Draco is appropriate, but none of you truly know me if you believe that I would kill my own spouse and then get another one – that's disgustingly insidious. Regardless, I am not going to kill Voldemort; he's what I want, and he certainly has all the attributes required to be the Vindico's partner – he's powerful, fierce and ruthless, certainly strong enough to bear it all."

"Oui," said Sebastien calmly, "but ze issue is zat you're supposed to kill him to become powerful enough to zurvive the VA test. Even if you want to disregard zat, bear in mind zat he doesn't share power. Now, he's ze Dark Lord, and you're ze Dark Lord's spouze, zecond to him in everyone's eyes. But if you become ze Vindico, he'll be ze one dizplaced, and he won't be able to tolerate zat; he'll zee you az a threat to his standing, he'll kill you-"

"If I become the Vindico, he'll adapt to the new circumstances," said Orion, waving a hand dismissively, removing his fingers from the wizard's nape and breaking the connection between his magic and the wizard's mark.

For a moment, Sebastien frowned, before he jumped to his feet, glaring at Orion while he briefly touched his own nape. "What were you doing to me?"

"What did you feel?" said Orion, smirking at him.

"I waz relaxed," replied Sebastien, his eyes narrowing. "It felt warm, pleazant, enticing… lulling."

Orion's smirk widened as he gazed at his fingers with a hint of wonder. "Ah, yes, it's peculiar that I can easily give my magic the feeling I want it to have when I'm touching an Aux's mark, since it's so difficult for me to manipulate my unique dark magic when I want to direct it outwards in a duel." He gazed up at the French wizard and smirked smugly. "If I can use your marks so easily, I guess it means that I'm a bloody good VA candidate."

"You uzed it," snapped Sebastien angrily, "to manipulate me."

Orion arched an eyebrow, utterly unfazed. "I used it to make you more willing to answer my questions with complete honesty. I didn't manipulate you, I just made you feel my magic; I made you feel welcomed and relaxed." He smirked and inched his face close to his. "You became an Aux because you wanted to. You knew that there was a possibility that someday a Vindico would arise. Bear in mind that if I become the VA you'll be mine, so I don't see how this can bother you. I'll certainly use it often – both to give pleasure and pain, I think."

"I'll be yourz?" said Sebastien, arching an eyebrow, before a wicked smirk crept on his lips. "In what capacity will you have me, mon cher?"

Orion snorted. "You and the other Aux will be mine, my followers, Bastien. I'm not aiming to have a harem, thank you very much."

"Well, I don't want you to have a harem either," scoffed Sebastien, before he rubbed his nape again and gazed back at him with a small frown of wonder. "You weren't able to do zis when we stayed in my Villa – you're becoming more powerful already."

"It's Grindelwald's lessons," mused Orion. "I never had to practice the use of my dark magic as constantly as I'm doing now; I think that's why I'm getting stronger."

"Oui, I've heard zat he's wiz you," said Sebastien, smirking at him. "I'm zorry zat I mizzed ze attack on Nurmengard. We were all surprised when ze spirits told us zat you had executed it."

"Me and some friends," said Orion grimly.

"And Dietrich Emmerich."

Orion's eyes snapped to his, and he demanded, "How do you know that he participated in the attack?"

"Pleaze," replied Sebastien, waving a hand, "who elze would have been involved in zuch madnezz? And from whom elze would you have gathered ze information about ze prison's wards? All ze Dark Allies believe zat it waz Dietrich's scheme, and zat he convinced zome of his nutty, old pals to do it. After all, Dietrich never appeared after ze attack on Nurmengard and ze Dark Allies know zat ze Dark Lord had nothing to do wiz it –he was quite mad and he interrogated uz during one of ze Dark Allies meetings to know if zomeone had been involved- so ze Dark Allies think zat Dietrich died during ze attack and zat it waz all his idea."

"Um, that's good news for me, if no one is looking for other suspects," said Orion sighing. He glanced at the French wizard with a small frown on his face. "There's something which isn't clear to me. You said before that I would encounter opposition, from both light and dark wizards, as I came closer to my aim-"

"Oui," interrupted Sebastien, nodding at him, "but dark wizards will rally to you if ze spirits decide to openly show themzelves and zupport you, hailing you as ze-"

"Yeah, I understood that," interjected Orion quietly, "but I'm doing everything covertly, no one except the Aux, the spirits, and Grindelwald know that I'm gathering the Hallows and that I'm aiming to become the Vindico – and I want to keep it that way until I succeed. So why would light wizards oppose me when they still believe that I'm their good, obedient Boy-Who-Lived? I'm not going to declare my true allegiance to the Dark in the open, and Dumbledore can suspect, but I'm still regarded as the Savior of the Light, so I don't see why they would oppose me before I became the Vindico and came out to the open. I truly don't see those dangers that you were talking about-"

"Mon cher," said Sebastien, looking at him in surprise, "even if you try to pass unnoticed az a light wizard, zey will feel ze dark magic in you zoon enough. And when zey do, zey will feel threatened; zey won't know what you are – a Vindico candidate- but zey will sense ze intensity of your dark magic. At zat point, no matter what you try, zey will know what zey are up against, and powerful light wizards will zeek to bring you down, becauze you'll be a threat."

Orion deeply frowned at him. "What do you mean that they'll 'feel' and 'sense'?"

"It's quite zimple," said Sebastien, smirking at him. "If you keep developing your dark magic, zere will be a point in which no matter how much you restrain it inzide you, it will be too strong to cloak it." He arched an eyebrow, and added, "I mean, you have been cloaking it zo far, haven't you?"

"Yes, of course," said Orion, staring at him pensively. "I started doing it a few years back, when Calypso told me that she could feel that I had become more powerful. I thought it wise to cloak it, since I didn't want others feeling it. But that's my point, you can cloak your magic so that no one feels it-"

"Can you?" interjected Sebastien, arching an eyebrow. "Surely, the majority of wizards don't need to, because their magic izn't powerful enough to overflow out from zeir magical cores, but think about ze truly powerful wizards and witches. Those who have zat level of magical intenzity can't fully restrain it. Others will feel and recognize zat power. Think about Dumbledoor and ze Dark Lord."

"But I always thought that they didn't cloak their magic on purpose," said Orion, gazing at him with wide eyes. "You can feel it in Dumbledore, his light magic calmly surrounding him, and he sometimes sends it out soothingly, when he has to tranquilize students and address them. And I felt his light magic becoming thunderous when he battled Voldemort. But I thought that he was purposely unfettering it for others to sense. And on Voldemort, you can feel his dark magic wrapping and pulsing around him with vibrating intensity, and it becomes fierce and violent when he's dueling, but I also thought that he did it on purpose, to intimidate his enemies, and to entice other dark wizards and witches. And you can also feel Grindelwald's dark magic-"

"Oui, exactly," interrupted Sebastien, smirking at him, "everyone can feel Dumbledoor's, Voldemort's and Grindelwald's magic because it's uncommonly and astoundingly powerful. Oh, I agree zat all zese wizards gladly allow zeir magic to be sensed by others, but my point is zat even if zey tried to cloak it, zey wouldn't be able to; not all of it."

"So you're telling me," said Orion slowly, frowning at him, "that if I keep becoming stronger as I continue to exercise and develop my dark magic, there will come a point in which I won't be able to cloak it and others will sense it, and thus feel that it's dark magic?"

"Precizely," replied Sebastien, widely smirking at him. "And I dare zay zat it will happen to you zoon. You're trying to cloak all of it now, yet I can feel it around you, probably becauze of my mark and ze way it reacts to you. But zoon, you'll zee others reacting to ze power you hold, and zen you'll know zat zey are sensing it. And you'll feel it az well, when you're unable to stop your dark magic from pulzing around you, az it happens to Voldemort and Grindelwald."

"Well, that explains a lot," said Orion, deeply sighing as he rubbed his forehead.

He wasn't disappointed to know that he wasn't powerful enough for others to easily sense it in him, since he had long discovered that he wasn't as powerful as Grindelwald during his lessons with the old wizard.

Nowadays, he managed to inflict some nasty dark curses on his mentor but he hadn't defeated the old wizard, not even once. And he had realized then that Voldemort had never used his full powers when dueling with him; and the man had attempted to kill him in two circumstances.

He had been quite miffed when realizing that Voldemort hadn't considered him powerful and threatening enough for the wizard to use his full power. And when he had mentioned it to Grindelwald, the annoying wizard had laughed at him, saying: 'Mein junge, why would he show a lesser opponent how powerful he really is? Why would a basilisk take the trouble of displaying its magnificence to a mouse, when it can easily devour it?'

And Orion had been forced to admit that Voldemort had never dueled with him with the show of power and magical skills that the wizard had used when dueling with Dumbledore in the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic.

In his duels with Voldemort, they had exchanged dark curses and Unforgivables, but that was it; the wizard hadn't deemed it necessary to pull out all his repertoire of magical abilities.

Realizing that he still had a stretch of a way to go to surpass wizards such as Voldemort, Dumbledore and Grindelwald, only made him more determined to apply himself with renewed fervor in his lesson with Grindelwald.

But he also knew that he wasn't that far behind because he felt his dark magic exponentially growing in him, and by the fast rate in which he was progressing in his lessons, he knew that people would soon start to feel his power when he was around them.

The issue was that, when it happened, he wouldn't be able to run around under the pretense of being the Boy-Who-Lived, since at some point others will feel that he was uncommonly powerful and that he wielded dark magic.

Oh, light wizards knew that he was a Black and that he carried dark blood in his veins, and therefore, that dark magic was the natural kind of magic which came to him, but they also believed that he had forsaken it. But when light wizards felt the strength of his dark magic, they would know that he had developed it, that he was indeed using it, and therefore, that he was utterly dark.

On one hand, he was glad because he had become tired of acting as the Savior of the Light, and he was looking forward to showing his true colors. But on the other hand, as Sebastien had told him, it would complicate matters for him because he would have light wizards opposing him, and dark wizards trying to undermine him, whilst he was busy with attaining his aims.

He saw now why Sebastien thought that the spirits' support would be useful in the future to cement his leadership, but he absolutely didn't want to go back into the spirits' clutches.

He would have to think a way in which to deal with them to gain their open support, and then kill them – because he wasn't relinquishing that.

"You look tired, mon cher. You could spend ze night here," said Sebastien silkily, devilishly smiling at him, "in my luxuriouz bed."

Orion's eyes snapped to his, and he snorted. "What – are you looking for more petting?"

"Caresses aren't ze only thing I have in mind," said Sebastien, his smile broadening wickedly.

"I'm tempted," said Orion with an amused snigger, "but I have to get back to Durmstrang. Thanks for trying to help me, Bastien. I'm glad to know that even if you're an Aux, you're still on my side."

"I am," said Sebastien, eyeing him carefully, "but I'm also taking my duties as an Aux zeriously." He took a step closer to Orion, and said in a low, urgent voice, "Many things are changing, mon cher, you must be prepared. Ze plans for ze continental war are stepping up, ze Dark Allies have almost finished setting up everything in zeir countries, and ze Dark Lord will soon strike in England. It's a shame zat you aren't coming to ze Dark Allies meetings, zince you're missing much."

Orion gazed up at him. "I wish I could but there's no way that I can leave Hogwarts without Dumbledore noticing, and during the weekends I have no time left to attend meetings. But I will start doing it once I'm finished with a few things I must do first." He brought his face close to Sebastien's, and whispered, "When is it going to happen? When will the Dark Allies act?"

"In a few more months," replied Sebastien. "You still have time zince it has been agreed zat ze Dark Lord must first gain control of England, and zen we'll proceed to strike in continental Europe."

Orion heavily inhaled, while he raked his fingers through his hair. "Voldemort wants Dumbledore dead first, before gaining control of the English Ministry of Magic, doesn't he?"

"Oui," said Sebastien, regarding him closely, "he's told ze Dark Allies zat zere's a plan underway to kill Dumbledoor, though he refused to tell us much elze. It's agreed zat once Dumbledore is disposed of, ze Dark Lord will lead his Death Eaters to gain control of ze English Miniztry, 'Ogwarts, St. Mungo's, and ze Wizengamot. Once wizarding England is firmly in his grip, ze Dark Allies will start moving in zeir respective countries. Ruzzia and Germany will be controlled first, and zen we would move to strike Franze, Spain, and Italy. Once those predominantly light countries are under our regime, we'll move against ze rest of Europe."

Orion gazed at him frantically, his voice hitched. "And this will start happening in a few months? It's too soon! I'm not ready. I wanted to become the Vindico before the continental war started-"

"Yes," interrupted Sebastien sternly, "ze Aux and ze spirits also want you to try to become ze Vindico before ze continental war starts. A war of this magnitude has been attempted before, and we all know zat Grindelwald failed and that countless dark wizards were killed because of it, not to mention the backlash of repression against Houses of dark bloodlines. We're aware zat ze chances of our coup succeeding are marginal if you don't step up in your plan of becoming ze Vindico. Zat's why I told you zat you must kill Grindelwald and Voldemort as zoon as pozzible-"

"You think we'll fail?" interrupted Orion, fretfully biting his lower lip. "You think that the Dark Lord and the Dark Allies will be defeated if I don't become the VA soon enough? But why? The Dark Allies have been planning the war ever since Voldemort came back, and Voldemort himself is confident that this time he'll win-"

"Ze Dark Lord is confident zat he'll win in England," interjected Sebastien quietly, "and ze Dark Allies think we have good chanzes of conquering Europe afterwards, but ze truth is zat ze Light are readying themzelves as much as we are. Dumbledoor has been very buzy zince ze Dark Lord came back, and we know zat Dumbledoor has already gained many zupporters in Franze, Spain, and Italy. He has my old Headmistrezz –Madame Maxime- helping him to recruit French wizards, and he's courting zeveral creatures for his cauze. Ze truth is zat we might have a chance of winning, but ze wars will be very prolonged, and under thoze circumstances zere's no way of forezeeing if ze Dark will be ze victor, and even if it is, many dark wizards will die in battle and bloodlines would be lost. But if you became ze Vindico on time, zen ze undecided dark wizards would follow you, and all ze Dark would be united under you, more strongly zat it could be under ze Dark Lord, therefore our armies would be larger and victory would be swifter. Not to mention zat you have ze Zraven vampires and ze English werewolves as your allies-"

"Yes," said Orion distressfully, "but it's too soon, Bastien! Remus and his packs will help the Dark Allies, since he's already part of them and the Dark Allies agreed to his terms, but I haven't seen Remus in a very long time and I know that he won't get involved unless I'm there. I convinced him to support the Dark because I told him that I would make sure that Voldemort fulfilled the terms of the alliance. I can do that but not until I'm done with all the other stuff I have in my hands. Moreover, I must regain the support of the Zravens because we had a pretty nasty quarrel, and I'm not going to see them until summer! And I'm still training with Grindelwald, I still have to kill Dumbledore and acquire the last Hallow, and I still have to get my father back before I try to become the VA, so how on Earth am I going to do all that in just a few months?!"

Sebastien placed a hand on his shoulder, and said quietly, shooting him a small smile, "Don't stress yourzelf, mon cher. I told you all this so zat you realized zat time is running short, nevertheless, you can still do all zat if you plan it carefully. I eztimate zat you have one year, because ze Dark Lord is planning to start taking hold of wizarding England zis summer, zen it will take him a few more months to establish his rule and to make certain zat England is under his control. Only zen will ze Dark Allies strike in other countries, starting to take hold of Ruzzia and Germany first, from within, before our armies are launched upon the rest of continental Europe. Zerefore, you have a year and zome months, before ze war in Europe erupts."

"A year and some months… I thought I had more time," muttered Orion slowly, breathing deeply while he fiercely rubbed his forehead. He gazed up at Sebastien, nodding curtly. "Alright, I'll do my best."

Sebastien tightened his grasp on Orion's shoulder, and he said sternly, "Good, but remember zat you must also gather ze horcruxez-"

"Oh, bother the horcruxes!" snapped Orion impatiently. "I don't have time for that on top of everything else-"

"I thought," said Sebastien sharply, his exasperation evident, "zat we agreed zat it was necezzary, in case killing ze Dark Lord becomes ze only alternative left for you."

Orion narrowed his eyes at him, crossing his arms over his chest. "The spirits and the Aux don't know what all of his horcruxes are, do they? That's why you're pushing me to do it, even if you claim that the Aux would do it themselves if I don't." He clenched his jaw, and gritted out, "Oh, I know that the spirits are aware of how many horcruxes he made, after all, they made an Aux implant that compulsion on Voldemort when he was young. But I bet that the spirits lost control of him when he became older and more powerful, therefore, they might not know which objects he used to make the rest of his horcruxes. Am I right?"

"You are," replied Sebastien nonchalantly, waving a hand dismissively. "We know how many he made but we aren't zure where or what zey are. Nevertheless, I'm certain zat we could discover it if we're forced to hunt ze horcruxes ourselves, if you don't." He shot him a pointed glance. "So, will you do it?"

"I will for the reasons I gave you before," said Orion crisply, "to protect the horcruxes from the Aux, and to have them, just in case. But that task is not on the top of my list of priorities. As you said, I have a year and some months, I'll worry about it later."

"Very well," said Sebastien pleasantly, shooting him a smile, "as long as you do it, I zee no reazon to prezzure you further about ze matter."

"Good," said Orion stiffly. "Now, I have to go, I have much to think about and plan for."

Sebastien sighed, before he patted him on the shoulder, charmingly smiling at him. "Come, come, let'z part amicably, mon cher. Remember zat my purpoze is to help you. I'm ze Aux's zecond in command, but I'm alzo your friend. I'm zure zat you realize zat I've disclosed all this to you acting against ze spirits' orders. Indeed, if zey ever found out, zey would have my head."

"Yeah, I know," said Orion with a heavy sigh, rubbing his forehead. He gazed up at him, and shot him a tentative warm smile. "And I do appreciate it, Bastien. Thanks."

Sebastien nodded, before his lips curved into a suggestive, devilish smile. "Are you zure zat you don't want to spend ze night here, with me? I could help you relieve zome of your stress, mon cher."

"By Merlin," said Orion chuckling, shaking his head with amusement, "wedding vows mean nothing to you, do they?"

Sebastien snorted, before he shot him a wicked smirk. "I'm a French dark wizard, mon cher, and we believe zat love making is an art to be enjoyed wizout ridiculouz moralistic restrictions." He brought his face close to Orion's ear, and breathed out in a silky purr, "I'm zure I could make you understand this and zat I could introduce you to a whole new world of zenzatory pleazures if you spend ze night with me, mon cher."

"Tempting," said Orion, smirking at him, "but I must decline. Voldemort gives me all the pleasure I desire."

"Pfft, ze Dark Lord can't hold a candle to me, I'm zure," said Sebastien, waving his hand dismissively. He devilishly smiled at him, adding, "Ze offer will still stand if you change your mind."

"Alright, I'll keep it in mind," said Orion, sniggering in amusement. He clapped his hand on the French wizard's shoulder, fondly smiling at him. "Take care, Bastien."

"You too, mon cher," said Sebastien, winking at him.

Orion nodded, shooting him another smile, before he turned on his heel and made way towards the entrance, his mind busily working on the next steps he was planning on taking.

As he wrapped his cloak around him and left Pierrefond Castle in order to portkey back to Bornholm Island with the use of the bracelet, he decided that it was time to finally give it a shot.

He had studied Cadmus' journal to exhaustion, he had already formed a plan to confront and defeat Cadmus to release his father's soul, and he was getting better and better in casting the Necromantic spells detailed in Cadmus' journal, so he knew that in a month or so he would be ready to take out Voldemort's piece of soul from the Resurrection Stone.

And immediately after that, he would go to the Guild and use one of their Necromancer's Gate to finally kill Cadmus and resurrect his father.

That would be his next step.