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.
AN:
Hello everyone, thank you very much for your reviews, and now I'm finally going to address some, though other questions will be answered in later chapters. Sorry for taking so long in replying reviews! Oh, but I can't answer the questions about Orion's visions, and his pregnancy or what LV did to him when he obliviated Orion… all that will eventually come up –winks-
Ah, yeah, and I do know that 'mein junge' should be written as 'Mein Junge', but when I reread the chapters I found it very disruptive to see all those capital letters everywhere, it kind of spoiled the flow of my mind's voice when I read, so I decided to leave it without the capital letters. I hope those who are German-speakers will forgive the transgression.
I would like to clarify two points:
1) About the mind link between Orion and Voldie:
The mind link between Voldemort and Orion is, most of times muted, since both of them use Occlumency to block their thoughts from the other, but in cases when one of them is feeling violent, intense emotions, then these will filter through the mental barriers, and the other would feel the emotions, given that Orion is LV's horcrux; as happens when Orion sometimes get glimpses of what LV is doing. Nevertheless, the emotions have to be very strong, like when Orion saw Lezander alive. Though the duel with Grindelwald rattled him, he didn't feel intense emotional angst or such, so it's probable, given that Orion always has his Occlumency shields up, that LV didn't feel anything. Regardless, it's important to remember that Orion notices that Voldemort senses his emotions because Voldemort becomes angered, letting the anger travel through the link, giving pain to Orion through the lightning bolt scar. Voldemort does this on purpose. It doesn't mean, however, that LV hasn't felt Orion's feelings in other circumstances without letting Orion know. Perhaps LV felt Orion's emotions during his duel with Grindelwald, but decided not to let Orion know about it, or perhaps he didn't think that Orion's emotions were suspicious or interesting enough… For now, we have no way to know how much LV is sensing.
2) About Orion's characerization and his relationship with Voldie:
I'm trying to keep Orion as much 'in character' as I can, always remembering that he is canon Harry, just with a different twist in his early life, which inevitably has made him colder and tougher. And Orion has killed before: he did nothing to prevent Neville being killed, and he killed Crouch Sr., Vernon Dursley, and Peter Pettigrew, but he had reason to hate those he killed, and he killed them without regrets, but killing someone he likes and cares for, like his mentor Grindelwald, is bound to cause him inner conflict, though he's already determined to do it eventually. Orion still has some of Harry's personality traits and I think it wouldn't be believable if he turned into a Lord Voldemort all of a sudden. He's still caring towards those he loves, though he can ruthlessly kill and torture when needed. As he keeps growing up, experiencing tougher things, he'll change, but I really can't say how much.
As for Orion's and Voldemort's relationship –grins-. LV isn't someone who's going to allow his spouse to take the place that he's been working to attain for decades, and he won't be happy to discover that Orion is more powerful than him, and that Orion's is supposed to be the leader of the Dark. I certainly can't see him accepting all of this with impassivity, that wouldn't be Voldemort at all. But we'll have to see how it unravels. And even though they became spouses as equals, Orion often had to cunningly make Voldemort accept what he wanted to do. To avoid confrontation, Orion either didn't tell him his plans or eventually persuaded Voldemort to allow him to do what he wished. And true, if they were equals, Orion shouldn't need to be doing all that, but the matter is that Voldemort has been in control because he's simply more powerful than Orion, and Orion chose cunning to avoid confrontation against someone who could kill him. Nevertheless, that was true before, but not now that Orion has finally learned to control his dark magic, at last becoming as powerful –or more- as wizards such as Dumbledore, Grindelwald, and Voldemort. In the next chapters we'll definitely see how this changes Orion's way of dealing with Voldemort, now that he knows that he could take him on.
And I think that it's true that Voldemort regarded Orion as a priced possession, with power, good looks, and good in bed, but it slowly changed as Voldemort made Orion become involved in his plans, telling him about the Mayan Stone and inviting him to form part of the Dark Allies. I don't see how Voldemort would have taken a chance of disclosing to Orion what he intends to do with the Mayan Stone if the wizard didn't consider Orion to be more than his pet. In his own way, Voldemort has given Orion a fair treatment as equals, considering that Voldemort isn't one who easily trusts or yields. I think it's important to remember that no matter how dominating and controlling Voldemort is in their relationship, he has yielded to Orion in several things Orion asked of him; he merged back with a horcrux when he lost his human appearance after making one more horcrux –which became Orion's Slytherin heirloom wedding band, he's taking the time to study the Mayan Stone, he stopped allowing Greyback to bite and kill children, he stopped allowing his allied Dementors to Kiss those they attacked, he's left the Gaunt ring in Orion's possession for a very long time even when Orion refused to tell him what he wanted to do with it besides transferring the piece of soul, he eventually 'allowed' Orion to attend Durmstrang during the weekends to keep having Necromancy only asking to be informed of Orion's plan to confront the dementor –something which Orion hasn't told him about, and he knows that Orion has discovered something about himself in Durmstrang, because Orion admitted it, though he didn't press for it further when Orion refused to say anything else.
All in all, given who Voldemort is, all these concessions are huge for him. True, Orion has also yielded many times, but my point is that their relationship might seem unbalanced, but truly isn't that much considering how Voldemort is. It doesn't mean, though, that they will become a fluffly happy couple, I cannot see that happening, their relationship will always be rocky and dangerous, but that's part of the thrill Orion gets from it, as he has admitted sometimes. And you have a good point, most of times Voldemort does whatever he wants in the end, but so does Orion, he hasn't stopped his plans because of Voldemort, he'll still confront the Dementor, however Voldemort might oppose that decision, and he still wants to become the Vindico, even knowing that it could imply that he'll have to kill LV in the end. Right now, he's trying to find other ways, but not because LV controls his actions and thoughts, simply because he's still in love with the wizard. And that's something that I could imagine canon Harry doing if he was in Orion's shoes; not giving up while trying to keep those he loves.
Now, about what Voldemort could have done to Orion when he obliaviated the boy; true, the man might have done something invasive and underhanded to enforce his will upon Orion, even knowing how Orion would feel about those actions, but we still don't know LV's reasons for doing it, and in his own warped mind, he might consider that he truly did it for Orion's benefit. Voldemort's actions will never be those of the classical noble man in love; they have to be evaluated considering who Voldemort is, since what might seem evil and ruthless could very well be Voldemort's own way of caring for Orion.
Anyway, in conclusion, Orion is acting like a dark wizard and the Vindico he wants to be, but still retaining some personality traits of canon Harry, since Orion is Harry with a different life. He'll still value more the lives of those he loves than the gathering of power, though, this might change, as the visions foretell. He might come to realize that he has to sacrifice much if he wants to become the Vindico, and as you say, becoming the Vindico will become more important than clinging to the hope that he can spare his spouse. But for now, at least, he's trying to have both things, though he now accepts the probability of Voldemort doing something inexcusable, and therefore, he has begun to prepare himself for the eventuality of having to destroy the horcruxes – still in character by wanting to give LV a fair chance in their confrontation, if it were to happen.
We will see all of these issues unraveling as the story continues.
Note: I've uploaded several new pictures –really good ones- in the yahoo group for the Black Heir, courtesy of Elysium90 – thanks again for sending me the pics, Elysium!-
Enjoy & Review!
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Chapter 7
Orion went back to stand before the broken cabinet and, immediately, Draco handed him a heavy scroll, with a frustrated scowl on his face.
"These are the repairing instructions I got from Borgin."
Orion nodded and unrolled it… and kept unrolling and unrolling until the scroll became a parchment several feet long, crammed with spidery scrawls of enchantments, arithmetic equations and ancient runic symbols.
His eyebrows shot to his hairline as his gaze travelled along the instructions, and he croaked, "This is very complicated. I don't understand half of it."
"I told you so," huffed Draco, crossing his arms over his chest.
Orion shook his head and murmured under his breath as he kept reading the absurdly lengthy instructions, his mind reeling due to such complex spells.
"One has to use both light and dark spells to fix it," he mused aloud, while he kept scanning the parchment. He looked up at Draco. "It's Spatial Transformation, way beyond NEWT level Transfiguration and Charms. Have you searched the library for books on these subjects in an advanced level?"
"Of course I have, that's the first thing I did," said Draco sharply, looking indignantly offended. "I found some books that can help me with the light spells but I didn't find any for the dark spells. I even broke into the Restricted Section, but I couldn't find any book that could help me, they weren't advanced enough."
Orion nodded, he knew perfectly well that Hogwart's Restricted Section only contained books which were very mild and basic in comparison to real tomes of Dark Arts subjects. He could find some books in Durmstrang's library that could help them, but the problem was that the books couldn't be taken out of Durmstrang. The school's heavy wards prevented that from happening, since Durmstrang had always been very secretive and possessive of the knowledge it imparted. Therefore, Durmstrang's library was useless to him since Draco needed to read the books for himself. He couldn't afford to do all that research on his own, he was busy with his own tasks.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up when he remembered where he had seen advanced books on these subjects. He hadn't had the time to read them, but he clearly remembered them when sorting them out from the stack of books he had selected to read in his fourth year.
He smirked at Draco, handing him the scroll. "I know where we can find books that will help you understand the instructions. I'm going to take you to a secret place that will blow your knickers away, Malfoy."
Draco's drawl, especially engineered for jaded boredom and cool indifference, was laced with just the merest hint of involuntary interest. "Really, Black? Where are you going to take me?"
"You'll see," said Orion, grinning at him. "Get your broomstick, I'll get mine and we'll meet at the girls' bathroom of the second floor."
Draco scoffed. "You're taking me to the girls' bathroom? How is that going to help?" He arched an eyebrow, and added with a leering smirk, "Unless you literally meant that you were going to blow away my knickers, Orion. What – do you want to do the nasty deed in the bathroom?"
"You prat," said Orion, companionably punching Draco on the arm, smirking at him, "if I wanted to shag you I would take you someplace befitting a Malfoy, not to a stinking bathroom."
"As if I would let you shag me," scoffed Draco, his silvery eyes alight, intently boring into his. "I don't bottom, Black. I would be the one shagging you."
"Yeah, yeah. Enough bantering, let's go," said Orion with a roll of his eyes, grabbing Draco's hand while he casted the disillusionment charm on them once again.
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Orion was waiting inside the girls' bathroom of the second-floor, still under the disillusionment charm. He had parted ways with Draco so that each could go to their respective dorms to collect their brooms, and he had also taken the opportunity of pocketing from his trunk the half-filled vial with the Felix Felicis potion – it was time to give it to Draco, so that the young wizard could use it to fix the cabinet.
"Are you here?" said a disembodied voice.
"Yes," replied Orion at once, tapping his wand on his head to cancel his invisibility. "Where are you? Lead my hand to your head, so that I can cancel your disillusionment."
After a few seconds, he felt someone grabbing his left hand and placing it on a smooth mass of silky hair. He tapped his wand on the invisible head, and instantly saw Draco appear before his eyes. His friend seemed intrigued, though he was masking it well.
"So, we are in a girls' bathroom, fascinating," drawled Draco sarcastically, eyeing their damp, watery surroundings with distaste.
Orion shot him a broad smirk, before he cast silencing and anti-spying spells around them. He went to the sink and his fingers caressed a side of one of the copper taps, feeling the curled snake engraved in it, and he hissed, "Open."
He heard Draco gasping in a hitched breath when, at once, the tap glowed with a brilliant white light and began to spin. Next second, the sink began to move; in fact, it sank, right out of sight, leaving a large wide pipe exposed.
He turned to Draco and shot him a smug smirk, seeing the boy's wide eyes glinting with fascinated excitement.
"This must be the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets, it's not a myth," whispered Draco in awe. "You found it – when?"
"Calypso and I discovered it during our fourth year."
Draco's eyes snapped to his, and he said angrily, sounding hurt, "And you didn't tell me? Calypso knew but you decided that I wasn't trustworthy enough?"
"No, you idiot," said Orion calmly, "it's not a matter of trust. I wouldn't be showing it to you now if I didn't trust you, and I'm taking a huge risk as it is." He arched an eyebrow, and added pointedly, "You are a Death Eater now; you're in constant contact with the Dark Lord. If he discovers that I've showed you this, he won't be happy. So remember to occlude this from him."
Draco stiffened, before he curtly nodded, and Orion was at least confident that his friend could conceal this memory from Voldemort if the wizard didn't dig in too deep. Draco had told him that Bellatrix had taught him Occlumency, and he knew that his friend had become proficient in it. He only hoped that Voldemort wouldn't have a reason to subject Draco to a real Legilimency attack because not even the best would be able to stand it; well, with the exception of Severus. Though, Voldemort wouldn't want to damage Draco much, since he still needed the boy to carry out his task, so if the wizard tried Legilimency, it would be mild, and Draco could withstand that. Moreover, there was no other way; Draco needed the books held in Slytherin's private library, so they would have to take the chance, and he would have to be prepared to save Draco if Voldemort decided to brutally break in his mind, which wasn't likely.
"Let's unshrink our brooms and go inside," said Orion, as he plucked out the tiny Firebolt from his pocket and swiftly tapped it with his wand to restore it to its original size.
He was able to apparate directly into Slytherin's private chambers because he was partly Slytherin's heir thanks to the Potter blood he carried, but he couldn't take others along-side the apparition, so they would have to take the long route in.
Once he saw that Draco was holding his own unshrunk broom, he stood at the edge of the pitch-black abyss created by the huge pipe, gesturing to Draco to do the same.
"You must fly in first," he said to him. "Wait for me to close the entrance and then you'll follow my lead as we fly through the pipe. Alright?"
Draco nodded, his silvery eyes alight with eagerness, and he immediately mounted his broom and plunged inside the wide pipe, hovering in mid air after having descended some feet.
Immediately, Orion mounted his Firebolt and entered the pipe, hovering for a bit as he hissed, "Clossse."
At once, the circle of light above him disappeared as the sink got back into place, darkness sweeping all around them. He swiftly flicked his fingers to wandlessly cast a luminescent ball of light in front of him, before his hand grasped the broom handle again.
"Let's go," he said to Draco, before he dived down the pipe, with the sphere of light following them, allowing them to dexterously fly along the twisting and branching pipe.
Orion was glad that Draco was an excellent flier, since he couldn't have done this with Calypso; with her, they had to slide down the steep, slimy passage. Furthermore, it seemed that his friend was thoroughly enjoying himself, since he heard an exhilarated cry of laughter behind him.
They flew at an alarming speed, turning and twisting as they fell deeper into the foundations of the school. And then, the pipe leveled out and they came shooting out of it, flying forwards along the damp, stone tunnel.
As they flew around a bend in the tunnel, Orion saw flash by the gigantic basilisk skin that Calypso had once harvested for potion ingredients. It was now shriveled and shrunk, not of the vivid, poisonous green of years before.
"Here we stop," he said over his shoulder, as they approached a solid wall ahead.
He swiftly dismounted his Firebolt, shrinking and pocketing it, seeing Draco doing the same with his broom.
"Uck, disgusting," said Draco with a scrunched nose, as he glanced at the grimy heaps of skeletons of devoured small animals.
Paying him no mind, Orion stood in front of the wall, intently observing the two carved, entwined serpents with glinting emeralds for eyes, and he hissed, "Open."
The serpents parted as the wall cracked open, the halves smoothly sliding out of sight, and he walked inside, Draco trailing after him.
Draco gasped in awe, and Orion observed him with a small smile on his face, while his friend's wide silvery eyes took in the dimly lit chamber with towering stone pillars of entwined carved snakes which supported the arched, high ceilings, casting long, black shadows along the greenish gloom that filled the room.
"Then the rumors about what happened during my second year are all true?" said Draco excitedly, glancing around the chamber. "Where's the body of the Weasley chit? Didn't the monster of this place kill her?"
Orion scoffed. "Hardly. Orssana ate the Weasley girl long after she was dead."
"Orssana? Who's that?" said Draco, snapping his head around to look at him.
"Why, Slytherin's basilisk, of course," said Orion, smirking at him.
Draco instantly whipped out his wand, his stance alert while he glanced around, though Orion could detect a thrill of anticipation in him. It would never cease to amuse him how Draco could adore nasty, dangerous, reptilian creatures such as dragons and basilisks, while despising, and secretly fearing, mundane creatures such as blast-ended skrewts and hippogriffs. When they had been in separate schools, he had frequently received long letters from Draco complaining about the Weasel, the Mudblood, Fatbottom, and the half-breed oaf Hagrid and his sodding beasts.
Orion pulled his mind away from old, fond reminiscences, and said smugly, "You don't have to worry about Orssana; she knows that she has to come to me with her inner eyelids closed when I call for her. Thus, her lethal gaze won't hurt us."
Draco's eyes snapped to his, and he said in wonder, "The basilisk obeys you? You're a parselmouth but not Slytherin's Heir, why would she-"
But Orion didn't let him finish, he quickly moved forward along the wide expanse of stone floors flanked by the serpentine columns, hearing Draco's footsteps echoing off the shadowy chamber, trailing after him.
Finally, he stood before the magnificent, looming statue of a full-bodied Salazar Slytherin standing against the back wall, and he hissed loudly, "Greatest of the Hogwarts Four, embrace your heir!"
He heard Draco draw in a sharp intake of breath, and he glanced at him, arching an eyebrow when he saw that Draco's cheeks were flushing.
Orion inwardly grinned. So Draco had a thing for parseltongue, did he?
He glanced back to the statue, while savoring how he could use that tasty piece of information, and he saw several things happening simultaneously, as expected. Slytherin's arms, which had been crossed over his chest, slowly untwined and with a scrunching noise, the stone arms moved forward, until the elbows were beside the body and the forearms were extended towards Orion, hands open and palms up. The great circular stone door that had been previously hidden behind the crossed arms, was now visible and it started rotating to a side, leaving the entrance open. At the same time, Slytherin's statue's mouth had opened, and from it, emerged Orssana, sliding down to the floor, the sound of her scales rubbing against stone echoing in the chamber.
He could see Draco excitedly rocking on his feet as the magnificent basilisk steered her head to look down at them from her impressive height.
"Master," hissed Orssana, flicking out her tongue to taste the air around him, "you are visiting me again, at last. I have been very lonely… waiting… bored… Are you here to finally command me to eat those of impure blood?"
"Er, no, sorry, not this time," said Orion, chuckling under his breath. He jerked his head towards Draco, and hissed, "This is Draco Malfoy, a friend-"
"Ah, yes," she hissed, sliding her long tail to wrap it around Draco's feet, earning her a startled yelp from said boy, as she flicked out her tongue to taste the air around him, "I smell pure blood in him… but he looks tasty." She reared up her head to stare at Orion, and said eagerly, "Is he a gift? Can I eat him, Master?"
Orion let out a bark of laughter, and Draco whipped his head around to look at him, and demanded sharply, while frantically trying to disengage himself from the basilisk tail which kept coiling around him, "What is she saying? What is she doing? Tell her to stop, damn it!"
"She thinks you're a treat," said Orion, sniggering. "She thinks you're tasty. I believe she's infatuated with you; you've become her new prey."
"A treat?" shrieked Draco indignantly. "I am a Malfoy, not a bloody snack!" He wildly wiggled his legs, trying to break free from Orssana's tightening hold, before he darkly glowered at Orion, and snapped angrily, "Tell her to release me!"
Orion smirked at him. "Oh, but I do like to see you squirming, Draco. You look very fetching."
"I look – what?" blustered Draco, his color rising as he became increasingly angered and frenzied, while the basilisk's tail kept wrapping around him, now above his waist.
When he saw that Draco was about to cast a curse at Orssana, who was now licking her sharp teeth with her forked tongue, Orion finally hissed in between snickers, "Leave him alone, Orssana. He's not for you to eat. He's my friend and I want to take him to Slytherin's quarters."
The basilisk glanced at him, and hissed with deep disappointment, "If that's your will, Master…"
"It is," said Orion, chuckling. "Release him, please. I do believe he's about to have a stroke."
"Oh… as you command, Master," hissed Orssana, looking extremely dissatisfied while she uncoiled her large tail from Draco, shooting him a last, longing glance.
Finally, when Draco was released, he instantly rounded on Orion, towering over him, and snarled menacingly, "Thought that was funny, did you? I'm going to make you pay for that, Black, you hear?"
"Are you?" said Orion unfazed, arching an eyebrow. He devilishly smirked at him, and took a step to be inches away from him, while he silkily hissed, "What are you going to do to me, Draco? What would a Slytherin like you do to a pseudo Gryffindor like me?"
"What – what are you saying?" spluttered Draco, looking flustered, his pale cheeks flushing in a deep red.
Orion's smirk widened, and he nuzzled Draco's neck, flicking out his tongue to lick the shell of the boy's ear, as he purred in a low hiss, "You have a little fetish for parseltongue, don't you? I bet you love to hear me hissing like this… Does it arouse you, Draco?"
"What are you doing?"shrieked Draco in alarm, pushing him back, looking hot and bothered, his handsome, aristocratic face deeply flushed.
Orion pulled away, laughing loudly before he widely grinned at him. "I was just having a bit of fun. There's no reason to panic."
"A bit of fun? And I wasn't panicking!" spluttered Draco furiously, glowering at him, while he surreptitiously rearranged his robes to cover his arousal. He imperiously lifted his chin, and spat angrily, "Well, I don't think it's funny and I'm not here for your amusement, Black. Let me tell you that-"
"Come, come, Draco, be a good sport, I was just trying to lighten the mood," said Orion, sniggering, while he grabbed the boy's hand. "Let's go. We're taking a ride on Orssana. She'll lift us to the entrance of Slytherin's private quarters. There's a library there-"
"Slytherin's quarters?" interrupted Draco, his silvery eyes glinting with excitement, all past grievances forgotten. "Salazar Slytherin had secret quarters in here?"
"Yep," said Orion, smirking smugly. "And there's a library where you'll find books that will help you understand Borgin's instructions. That's why I wanted to bring you here." He pulled him forwards with him. "Let's go, both of us have much to do. Orssana, please lift us to Slytherin's private quarters."
"Yes, Master," hissed Orssana, at once lowering her head to the ground.
Deftly, Orion climbed behind her head, pulling Draco to seat behind him, and the basilisk slowly started to rise until one third of her body was pressed against Slytherin's statue, the rest supporting her on the floor. She inclined her head when they reached the statue's chest and Orion took a small leap from her head into the opening, Draco immediately following him.
Orion glanced down at the basilisk, and hissed warmly, "Thanks again, my friend. I won't be seeing you soon, since I'm always apparating directly into Slytherin's quarters, but if I have time I'll try to visit you."
"Thank you, Master," hissed Orssana softly. "I'll await for you… I get very lonely without a mate… Tom promised to get me a mate…"
"Yeah, I know," said Orion, sighing. "But honestly, I don't think he'll come through with that. He's very busy at present. Someday, perhaps, Orssana. Ah, and remember, the order still stands that you can't attack any students. Understood?"
"Yes, my Master," hissed Orssana, with a hint of resignation.
Orion shot her one last smile, and pulled Draco with him inside the room, while he flourished his wand, and said, "Lux!"
Instantly, all the torches on the walls burst with light and the candelabra hanging from the arched ceiling ignited. With his hand still grasping Draco's, he pulled him to stand in the middle of the grand circular room that had several plush dark emerald couches, a couple of armchairs and tables, and it's walls covered by three-story shelves filled with books.
"This is amazing," whispered Draco, letting go of Orion's hand as he started to explore the shelves upon shelves of books, his eyes glinting with fascination and greedy eagerness. "They are mostly books on the Dark Arts… and look, here's one called the Dark Side of Transfiguration… another of Charms: Explained and Unrestricted… uhmm… Ah! Arithmetic Equations for the Spatial Thinker…"
"Yes, I'm sure you'll find the books you need," said Orion hastily. He gestured towards one of the tables, and added, "There're quills, ink and parchment there, so that you can take notes, because the books can't be taken out of this place. The wards won't allow it-"
Draco snapped his head around to look at him, and said irked, "You've been keeping this treasure of knowledge all to yourself?" He crossed his arms over his chest, shooting him a hurt glare. "You could have shared it with me – your best friend!"
"Yeah, well, I'm sharing it with you now, aren't I?" snapped Orion impatiently. "Besides, remember that you aren't supposed to know about this place. So do your research now, because I don't think that I'll have time to bring you here again."
"What – you aren't going to help me research?" said Draco, with a hint of disappointment.
"No," replied Orion shortly. "You can manage perfectly well on your own. I'll be in the study. I have things to do-"
"What do you have to do?" interrupted Draco, arching a curious eyebrow.
"I'll be busy with dangerous stuff," said Orion in clipped tones, "which are none of your business. So don't come in, wait until I'm done and come out." He pierced the young wizard with his eyes, and added sharply, "Whatever you hear – yells, screams, wails of pain – don't come in."
Draco's eyebrows shot to his hairline. "What in Merlin's name are you going to do-"
"That's no concern of yours!" snapped Orion. "Do as I tell you, it's for your own protection."
Draco huffed, though he soon waved his hand dismissively, and drawled indifferently, "Very well, go do your things, I'll be much too busy here, anyway."
"Good," said Orion tersely. "I'll see you in some hours."
And he quickly turned on his heels, opening the fourth door, entering Slytherin's study. He firmly shut it behind him, casting a powerful locking charm and a silencing spell for good measure, and he approached the large, ornate mahogany desk, with Cadmus' journal and the Resurrection Stone lying on the middle.
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Orion was seated on the high, plush armchair, behind the desk, with one of the journals of Salazar Slytherin opened at the page in which the creation of a soul's anchor on Earth was described, and beside it, Sylvester Slytherin's parseltongue book on 'Parsel Rituals for the Soul', where Slytherin's grandson finished describing the creation of a horcrux, with all the necessary spells hidden among other rituals, though horcrux-making didn't require parsel-spell casting.
He had reread countless times all the useful passages of those books, careful of reading every single detail in order to not commit any catastrophic mistake. And after hours of revising, he was ready.
Now, his forehead was creased in intense focus and concentration as he reread the most important spell he was going to use, his fingers unwittingly caressing the smooth skin covering Cadmus' journal, while the page he was reading softly fluttered, expanding and contracting with the journal, as if it were breathing lung.
He was once again completely immersed in Cadmus' writing, feeling, as usual, the sentiments poured by the wizard when writing the passages, his lips soundlessly moving as he read, his mind foggy with alien emotions, his heart pounding with their intensity.
With fierce determination, Orion briefly closed his eyes, allowing himself to be utterly infused by his Necromantic powers. Instantly, he felt them rising and enveloping him like a cold, thick mantle, and he snapped open glowing, all-black eyes.
He traced a fingertip along the page of Cadmus' journal, and he read aloud the Necromantic welsh incantation created by the wizard, ""Tywyll anrhegu mi y cyfoeth am y Trais am Marwolaeth…"
The chanting rose and fell in measured waves, steady as a sacred drum for marking the rhythm of the intonation. It felt like a vibration more than a sound, he felt it snaking its tendrils inside him, his dark magic rising and twirling with his Necromantic powers… The words seemed to enter his very being, making his Necromantic powers violently agitate and stir, like a simmering cauldron about to burst.
Having practiced it countless times, he spread his right hand before him, and finally said, "Anrhegu mi y Llaw am Marwolaeth!"
And suddenly, a burst of black light briefly obscured his vision, and he felt a burning spreading from his torso, to his right arm, and finally to his fingers. Then, being encompassed by all-surging waves of power, he saw his right hand glowing in eerie blackness; Llaw am Marwolaeth, the Hand of Death – the spell Cadmus had used to manipulate souls; the spell he used in his visions to destroy the last of Voldemort's pieces of soul.
A shudder ran down his spine, the power feeling unnatural, his body now shivering in the coldness which seemed to permeate the room.
Wasting no time, his all-black eyes gazed at the Gaunt ring encrusted with the Resurrection Stone, and he flicked his wand at it, making the ring float in mid air.
Sucking in a breath, he raised his right hand, which emanated a dark glow, towards it, and quickly, he pushed his Necromantic powers outwards, pouring through his fingertips, creating a phantasmagorical black hand of vibrating power which emulated the movements of his own hand. As he kept pouring out his magic, he saw the black Hand of Death trembling and expanding, growing as wide as his own body.
Fiercely, he threw his own hand forward, sinking his fingers in the air, as if grasping something, and he saw the black hand of Necromantic magic doing the same, plunging into the Resurrection Stone. He tightened his fingers around something, feeling as though he was sensing through the black hand of magic; feeling he was wrapping his fingers around something strong and alien, something which didn't want to be disturbed. He felt Voldemort's piece of soul rising inside him, recognizing a match nearby, and with great effort, his forehead covered by sheen of sweat, his extended arm trembling, he wrapped the fingers of the Hand of Death around the piece of soul inside the Resurrection Stone, and he started to pull it out.
He felt it struggling, pushing back at him, attacking the Necromantic magic of the hand that was trying to jerk it away from its home, and Orion gritted his teeth together and rushed outwards more glowing blackness of magic, filling and strengthening the Hand of Death. He mercilessly tightened its fingers around the piece of soul, biting his lips to held in a scream of pain as he felt shocks of it running through his arm, into his core, as the soul attacked the Hand of Death with its own dark magic, making Orion feel as if the attack was against him, since the Hand of Death was a projection of his own Necromantic powers. And finally, with his lips dripping blood, still bitten down by his teeth, he fisted the Hand of Death and he yanked out the soul.
A loud sucking sound exploded in the room, hurtling waves blasting along, making Orion stagger backwards due to its impacting force, the ring dropping to the floor just when a shrieking wail loudly resounded through the room as the piece of soul was plucked out of the Resurrection Stone.
Quickly, Orion regained his balance, maintaining the control on his Necromantic magic that formed the Hand of Death, which was now grasping something. The soul was a morphed thing of whitish light, twisting and screaming, with the barely recognizable appearance of a seventeen-year-old Tom Riddle, too distorted as it struggled inside the grasp of the Hand of Death, the black fingers of magic tightly gripping it.
Orion's knees almost buckled under the strain of keeping the Hand of Death powerful and alive with the outpour of his Necromantic magic, but he forced himself to stand resolute while he expanded the Hand of Death, seeing it grow and vibrate until it covered the whole piece of soul, muffling the wails and eerie screams, making it form a sphere of blackness containing the soul… like in his dreams…
He shook his head, pushing away the stabbing remembrance of his visions, and he quickly brandished his wand with his unoccupied left hand, aiming at the distorted whitish form which could still be seen through the orb of blackness, and he roared, "Anima tranferatu em essencia!"
Instantly, a beam of bright yellow light crossed the sphere of black Necromantic powers, and it struck and enveloped the piece of soul inside. The warped soul became calmly still and silent, floating in the yellow luminescence inside the orb, prepared to be transferred into somewhere else.
With tired, glowing, all-black eyes, Orion gazed at what would become the new home for the piece of soul.
For the purpose of transferring Voldemort's piece of soul into a worthy receptacle, he had, some weeks ago, sent a letter to Urgrock, asking the old goblin to owl-post him an heirloom he had briefly glanced at when he had gone into the Black vault, when he had found there 'Corelus Pommel's' journal – Cadmus Peverell's journal.
The Black heirloom now laid on top of the desk; an exquisite silver chain with a pendant encrusted with small emeralds, surrounding an ornate 'B' made with inlaid black sapphires.
Orion flicked his wand at it, casting a nonverbal charm to make it float in mid air. He had his right hand extended, still controlling the Hand of Death which had become the orb containing the soul, and his left hand was gripping his true wand -the pure white wand Gregorovicth had named as the Death and Life wand, since it had a double core of basilisk venom and phoenix tears. Then, he started moving it in intricate patterns through the air, casting layer upon layer of dark spells which would prepare the Black heirloom to become the new horcrux.
He didn't know how many minutes or hours had passed, but he finally reached the end of the ritual detailed in Sylvester Slytherin's book, and he casted the last spell to make the heirloom the new home for the piece of soul, heavily warded to contain and protect the soul.
Orion relaxed his right hand, making the orb of black Necromantic magic return to the original shape of the Hand of Death, and the black fingers of magic slightly loosened its tight grasp around the ravaged soul, while he directed the black hand towards the floating heirloom.
Abruptly, when it passed in front of him, the distorted soul started to fiercely struggle against the black fingers of magic which held it, a loud wail with a hint of longing and frustration echoing bizarrely around the room.
"NO! I don't want that pendant… You… you!"
Orion gasped when the soul spoke, and with wide eyes he gazed at the distorted figure of the teenage Tom Riddle, who kept fighting with all its might to break free. He involuntarily took a step forward, feeling an inexorable strong pull towards the soul; the piece of soul inside him now fiercely rising and vibrating, burningly yearning to merge with its partner, compelling him to do so.
"No, you can't merge with me, Tom," gritted out Orion through clenched teeth, taking a step back while he used all the strength and power he could muster to tighten the Hand of Death's fingers around the piece of soul.
"You know me?" demanded the distorted Tom Riddle, still mightily struggling, as if wanting to plunge right into him. "Let me inside you… you feel familiar… your magic… I won't hurt you… I'll make you powerful, boy!"
"I know you, but I don't want you inside me," said Orion quietly, feeling a pang of sorrow as he gazed at the ravaged piece of soul with the distorted appearance of the young Tom Riddle; the once handsome face now grossly etched, as if it had been massacred by a knife.
"FREE ME - LET ME INSIDE YOU!" shouted the distorted Tom Riddle, madly twisting and pushing against the fingers of Necromantic magic which held him tight. His voice lowered to a beseeching, soft voice. "You know me, let me be with you, boy… I can give you great magical abilities… I can make you powerful… let me share your body… you won't regret it… I promise…"
Orion shot him a sad, tired smile. "No smooth talk will convince me, Tom. Indeed, I know you too well for that. I'm giving you a new home. I'm not trying to hurt or destroy you-"
"I don't want a new receptacle!" yelled Tom Riddle madly. "I want you… you already have something of me inside you… I can feel it!" His voice turned caressingly soft, as he tried to extend a phantasmagorical pleading hand towards him. "How can you refuse? Don't shut me in an object… It's dark and cold… I want to feel alive… please… I want to have a body… It's been too long… please, don't trap me in an object…"
"I can't! I will not have you posses me as if I were a flesh and bone puppet-"
"No! I wouldn't do that," said Tom Riddle instantly. "There's another like me in you, I feel it… if you let me in, I would merge with it, and I would be strong enough to talk to you in your mind… but I wouldn't posses you, promised… I would teach you wonderful things… I can make you powerful beyond your dreams… I could be your secret friend…"
"You were my friend, my confidant, my companion," said Orion, sadly smiling at him. "But I can't let you merge with me. You should merge with your true self, with Voldemort-"
"You know about him?" gasped out Tom, his distorted whitish mouth agape, before he clamped it shut and said quietly, "So I truly accomplished it – I became Lord Voldemort, I still exist?"
Orion nodded, and Tom whispered, "Who are you?"
"I'm someone who befriended your locket horcrux when I was ten years old," replied Orion quietly, gazing at him with a pang of longing for he resembled so much to locket Tom, but he also felt sorrow and anger at what Voldemort had done to himself; this wasn't right, the pieces of soul suffering like this. His glowing all-black eyes softened as he stared at the hazy, distorted Tom Riddle, and he said softly, "I'm someone who truly loves you, Tom... I'm your spouse."
And without giving him time to utter a single word, Orion slammed the Hand of Death into the Black heirloom, sinking Tom Riddle's piece of soul into the pendant. And he swiftly brandished his wand in his left hand, yelling, "Forza de vita encapsulae!"
Instantly, the pendant violently vibrated, shooting a blaze of black beams around the room, the floating chain wildly flipping in the air, as if rocked by fierce winds.
The force of the impact, and of the dark magic unleashed in the last spell, blasted Orion across the room, and he painfully crashed against a wall, hitting his head hard. Dazedly, he slid to the floor, his limbs tiredly limp, his body trembling from exhaustion, his face pale.
His Necromantic magic had instantly rushed back into him, now his powers swirling tranquilly inside him, the Hand of Death gone, his own hand no longer glowing in blackness.
Groaning, Orion carefully touched the tender spot on the back of his head, feeling it throb under his fingertips. He crouched to hands and knees, and slowly made his way towards the floating Black heirloom. Exhaustedly, he jerked a hand, wandlessly cancelling the charm, and he quickly snatched the dropping pendant.
His fingers tightened around it, feeling the pull of the soul inside and the tingling of the dark magic, and he caressed it, whispering softly, "Oh, Tom… you fool, you did this to yourself."
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Orion tenderly caressed it once more, admittedly with longing, since he had considered, for a fraction of a second, to let Tom reside in him, given that he was almost the same Tom of the locket. It was foolish, he knew, for this Tom didn't know him, and would only try to use him for his own benefit and devises; he knew that all too well.
Yet, hearing and seeing this Tom had rattled him, nonetheless. He had detected the pain in the soul's voice, the horror of being trapped in an object, with no means to communicate, being nothing but a 'thing'. But it wasn't with him with whom the piece of soul had to merge to escape its solitary imprisonment, it was with Voldemort, and someday he hoped to make the wizard realize that.
Angered –he was going to give Voldemort a piece of his mind next time they saw each other- and still slightly sorrowful, he laboriously got to his feet, tightly clutching the new horcrux as he gazed at it.
The Black heirloom was worthy of a King, Voldemort would be satisfied; since he was giving the new horcrux to the wizard. Voldemort had trusted him for ages with the Gaunt ring, and he had promised the wizard to give him back a horcrux once he managed the transference; he wasn't about to break that trust. For if, one day, he had to destroy the horcruxes, he would do it granting Voldemort a fair chance, just as he wanted to give Dumbledore a fair duel; wit against wit, and magical abilities against magical abilities. No one was later going to have reasons to undermine or dispute his victories against other wizards.
Orion deeply frowned while he gazed at the horcrux in his hand. How could the visions imply that he would destroy such thing? After hearing this Tom Riddle, his pleas to feel alive again, how could he possibly kill such piece of soul?
He angrily shook his head and carefully pocketed the new horcrux. Slowly, he took a few steps until he reached the Gaunt ring on the floor, flipping his hand at it, and it shot to the air, floating before him.
Orion carefully inspected the Resurrection Stone while the ring it was inset on revolved slowly in mid air. After a few moments, he grinned triumphantly; the Stone wasn't cracked and he would no longer feel pain if he put the ring on - the Hallow was no longer blocked by the piece of soul, and it would have its powers intact and unrestrained.
He took a deep intake of breath, letting it out slowly, his heart pounding fast in his chest, while he felt a rush of anticipatory thrill and excitement. This was it. He would finally feel the true power of the Hallow; his Necromantic abilities magnified tenfold thanks to it, like Cadmus said in his journal.
Without wasting another second, he flung an open hand into the air and snatched the hovering ring, immediately placing it around his right-hand index finger, beside the Black Heir ring he wore on the middle finger.
But nothing would have prepared him to what he felt the instant the Gaunt ring was set around his finger.
The Resurrection Stone of the ring flashed in an intense black glow, only once, and he gasped when he felt a glorious dark fire of power which seemed to burningly rush through his veins, he felt his Necromantic powers violently sweeping in him, bursting in all-consuming intensity. He felt his eyes turning all-black without a thought or effort on his part, he felt a mantle of coldness and extreme detachment wrap around him, but it was pleasantly numbing, frostily consuming, and his senses seemed to sharpen to the extraordinary. Everything around him seemed to vibrate and hum, and he dazedly looked around, his mind fogged by a consuming need.
And then, gazing around, he saw a glowing whiteness coming from his body. It was his soul, he knew, though a full-fledged Necromancer couldn't see souls inside living humans with the naked eye, they had to use a powerful and magically-draining spell, and they rarely did without good reasons. Fascinated, he tried to inspect it, but soon gave up; from the perspective of his own eyes it was impossible to see much else but a whitish glow.
He felt a staggering hunger - for power? For something else? He didn't know, but the all-encompasing surging waves of Necromantic power which rushed through his body made him breathless and dizzy with elation, triumph, and a sense of infinite power and dark glory. He knew, he just knew that he could manipulate any otherworldly being to subject them to his will. He knew he could control ghosts, spirits, and souls, and that they would be rendered powerless to do nothing except follow his orders. He knew he could twist, morph, merge, obliterate or force them into other planes; he could do what Dementors did and he could do what the Force of Death did. He knew he could summon creatures from other planes, he knew he could rot the body of a wizard with a flick of a finger, and that he could steal a soul from a living human. He knew he could do everything that Vagnarov said that full-fledged Necromancer could do; everything and much more. He knew that he could do everything that Cadmus had described in his journal, and by Merlin that he understood the wizard; his obsession, his madness, his hunger, his fascination…
He felt all of it, throbbing in his very being, and suddenly, he loudly laughed.
And it sounded strange, eerie and insanely unrestrained to his own ears, but he didn't care, he couldn't help it, the power was all-consuming in its magnificence, he felt it in him, pulsing, vibrating; eager to rush from him at the merest thought or command.
He laughed like someone who knew that nothing and no one could stop him from doing whatever he wished, that he could unleash destruction and chaos, that he could unbalance the planes for his own amusement or benefit, that he could resurrected people long dead, and that not even Dementors could kill him in punishment; for he knew and felt that, unlike Cadmus, he was the Resurrection Stone's true Master.
He felt it in his blood, in his violently swirling dark magic; all this was what the true Master of the Hallows could do - what the Vindico could do.
With all-black eyes glowing with eerie intensity, Orion embraced all of this, still laughing, as he had never laughed before.
Suddenly, the door was slammed open.
"I found all the dark spells, Orion!" said a highly triumphant and smug voice. "I can finally understand grand part of the instructions that incompetent idiot of Borgin sent."
Orion swirled around towards the sound of the voice, and he gasped.
"Your eyes are all weird again. What's going on? Why is it so cold in here..."
But Orion couldn't pay attention to what the boy was saying. Before him was Draco, glowing in an incandescent pure white, and the young wizard was gloriously beautiful to his eyes. He felt the boy's soul like a beacon of enticing light calling to him; he felt it like waves of warmth that crashed against the insular coldness in him. A coldness he didn't want to feel anymore. He felt a gut-wrenching, consuming hunger, a deep desire which suddenly knew no bounds.
"Draco," he whispered, mesmerized, fascinated, hungry for something he couldn't describe, his glowing all-black eyes wide and glazed over.
Before he knew what he was doing, Orion had sprung forward, tightly wrapping his arms around Draco, crashing his lips against the boy's, feeling a terrible, inexorable need.
Through the fogginess of his mind, he became aware of Draco briefly stiffening in his arms, before relaxing and moaning as he opened his mouth and allowed Orion to demandingly plunge his tongue inside, exploring the boy's warm cavern with delirious lust and consuming desire.
He felt Draco's skilled tongue caressing his, battling for dominance, but Orion wouldn't have any of it, and he moaned into their locked mouths as he crushed the other boy against the wall, feeling their hardening arousals rubbing together through their robes, sending spikes of pleasure and warmth shooting through his cold body.
Feeling a maddening, urgent, all-consuming need, he lowered Draco to the floor, and he swiftly parted the young wizard's legs with a knee. Quickly, He positioned himself between them, on top of Draco, while he gazed at him with dazed all-black eyes, rubbing his body against Draco's, eliciting a deep moan to be wrenched from their throats.
Draco gasped for air, his silvery eyes clouded with desire. "What – I … let me have you, Orion. I've waited so long for this-"
"No," breathed out Orion, as he hungrily nibbled and licked the boy's neck, frenziedly rubbing their clothed arousals together. "I need to be inside you, Draco. Please, it hurts… I need to feel you all around me… I need the warmth… your light… Let me-"
"I… I've never bottomed-"
"I know, I'll be gentle, please," grunted Orion desperately, as he frantically pressed and rocked his body against Draco's.
He couldn't contain himself any longer, he felt a painful hunger that was wrecking him apart. If the boy didn't let him, he had half a mind to force it. He only knew that he wanted to be in Draco; that he wanted to utterly consume him. He felt he was about to explode.
Draco thickly swallowed, his fingers carding through Orion's hair, clenching. "Alright… but I get to top afterwards-"
"Yes, yes, that's fine with me," said Orion instantly, before he swooped down to capture Draco's warm mouth again, hungrily devouring it, feeling he needed something from it, but he didn't know what, it was driving him insane.
Draco pulled away for air, his handsome face flushed, his silvery eyes glazed over with deep desire, as he wrapped his legs around Orion's waist, pressing their arousals together, making Orion groan in pleasure and buckle against him.
Swiftly, Orion flicked a hand, wandlessly vanishing their clothes, while he carded his fingers through Draco's silky lock of platinum-blond hair.
He gazed down at him with fogged all-black eyes, seeing Draco's smooth, hard chest, his lean, defined muscles, his handsomely aristocratic features, his gorgeous eyes looking like silvery, molten mercury, but above all, seeing his soul glowing in a pure, intense whiteness which suffused all of Draco's body, making the boy the most glorious and enticing being he had ever seen.
Orion groaned in pleasure and maddening desire just for looking at him, and he whispered in between haggard pants, "Merlin, you're so beautiful, Draco… If only you could see yourself as I see you… "
"You're gorgeous as well," said Draco, smirking at him while his heated gaze travelled along Orion's nude body. He crushed Orion against him with his wrapped legs, groaning as their hard, naked arousals rubbed together, and he said in between pants, "Get on with it… or I'll shag you first."
"Merlin, I want you, I need you… the warmth, the light," murmured Orion, his mind fogged from all rational sense, completely dominated by an immitigable hungry need to utterly posses and consume.
He positioned himself, ready to plunge into Draco, but before moving onto that he instinctively ravished the boy's mouth, his fingers twined in Draco's silky hair, firmly holding the boy's head in place, pushing his tongue deeper, and he sucked in a breath of air from their locked mouths.
Suddenly, his whole body shook as it was ignited by an all-encompassing, exquisite warmth drawn from Draco's mouth, something radiant utterly filling his body, dissipating the devastating empty coldness of his being, and he yelled in pleasure, such pleasure as he had never felt before; the shout muffled as he kept sucking in breaths from Draco's mouth...
He felt Draco abruptly stiffening, and then frantically struggling against him, but he couldn't stop, his mind spun with warm pleasure, beyond any coherent thought; he wanted nothing but to mitigate his spiraling, consuming hunger for more, he felt he would shrivel and die if he didn't get more...
