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 8

Suddenly, through the cold veil of numbness and incoherence of his mind, he felt a blazing, piercing bolt of pain which exploded from his invisible scar, along with a painful burning around one of his fingers.

Orion wrenched his mouth from Draco's and he screamed in pain, while he felt someone roughly pushing him away. He curled on the floor, grasping his bowed head, clawing at his forehead, still screaming as the pain became more intense.

He felt the fog of his mind being pierced by the pain, and suddenly, his mind started clearing, the pain bringing it back to coherence, bringing him back from detachment and coldness, and everything began to daunt on him…

The images and sensations of what he had done swirled in his now rational mind, and horrified, Orion gasped.

Quickly, he pulled the Gaunt ring from his finger, flinging it to the farthest corner of the room, before he pulled out the Black Heir ring -which was sending waves of burning pain through his finger- letting it drop to the floor.

As soon as he stopped wearing the Gaunt ring, he felt all coldness sweep away from his body as if taken away by an eerie, rushing wind; his Necromantic powers immediately settling inside him, dormant.

He began to breathe in between choking, panicky pants as he realized what he had been about to do; all the horrible implications sinking in his mind. His green eyes were now wide, unseeing, aghast and frightened.

"What the fuck was that, Orion?!" yelled Draco, his silvery eyes wide, terrified, aiming his wand at Orion while he unsteadily straightened up, his nude body shivering, his breathing laborious and heavy. "What the fuck were you doing to me? ANSWER ME!"

Orion gazed up at him from his rolled up position on the floor, and he choked out, "You felt as if in the presence of a Dementor, didn't you?"

"YES!" shouted Draco furiously. "What are you playing at? First the bloody basilisk and now this?! Do you think it's funny? What the fuck were you doing?"

"I'm sorry," croaked out Orion, shivering as he clasped his arms around his knees, pulling his legs tightly against his naked body. A choked sob lodged in his throat, and he whispered brokenly, "I'm just like Cadmus… I did what he did… I couldn't control it, it controlled me… the hunger… Merlin… the hunger… your soul… I would have killed you…"

"What on Earth are you babbling about?" snapped Draco angrily. "Who's Cadmus? What hunger? Souls? What souls?!"

Orion briefly glanced at him, his eyes wide and deeply perturbed, as he muttered, "Merlin, the pain… he felt my feelings… he became very angry… he summoned me… he knows…" He fiercely shook his head. "But no… I always have my Occlumency barriers up… and my Necromantic powers… no, he couldn't have seen you… yet, he felt-"

"STOP BABBLING!" yelled Draco, with exasperation. "Explain things to me, or by Merlin that I'll curse you into the next year!"

"Voldemort knows about this!" shouted Orion, glaring up at him.

"How in Merlin's name can the Dark Lord know?" demanded Draco, his face paling.

"Oh, believe me, he knows," said Orion bitterly, glancing at the Black Heir ring on the floor. "And I finally comprehend how... I have a mind link with him, Draco, but don't ask, because I won't tell you. The important matter is that, sometimes, he can feel what I do. Thus, he knows I was about to shag someone. Don't worry, he doesn't know it's you, and I will never tell him." He shrugged his shoulders. "I'll tell him it was with another person. I can take the blame; I have no problem with that. By Merlin, I deserve it for my stupidity." He tightened his arms around his legs. "Furthermore, I think he spelled my Black ring to be something else besides a portkey and a summoning alarm device. I think it tells him when I'm about to be have intimate contact with someone. That would explain how Voldemort knew about the time when I saw Lezander alive, because I wanted to comfort him, to kiss him-"

"WHAT?!" spat Draco outraged. "Lezander is alive? You never told me that the half-breed was-"

"Yes, he is!" snapped Orion heatedly. "And I didn't tell you because few people know. Just my friends from Durmstrang, my Headmaster and one of my professors…" He snorted, and added angrily, "And of course, Lord bloody Voldemort knew because of my Black Heir ring. How dare him!"

"You're not making sense," said Draco angrily, his voice frustrated, as he crouched besides him, extending at hand to touch his shoulder. "Lezander died in the Department of Mysteries. That's what you told me-"

"Don't touch me!" shrieked Orion, quickly shifting away from him while clasping his arms tighter around his shivering body.

Draco deeply frowned at him, but he dropped his hand, and snapped, "Fine, I won't. Now, tell me how it's possible for the half-breed to be alive if you told me that he had lost his soul when he went through that Veil thing."

"Oh, but I got him back, didn't I?" said Orion tonelessly, before he let out a dry, mirthless bark of laughter. "That's right, I saved him, because I pulled him out of the Veil with his soul still inside his body. Not that I realized that he truly made it alive, I discovered it much later. I thought for many months that he had died because of me - to protect me. But the truth is that I saved him. Because I defeated the Force of Death – which is unheard of!"

He sniggered mordantly, staring at Draco, his green eyes madly flashing in anger. "Because I'm a very powerful wizard, Draco; you have no idea how much! Because I am a Necromancer. I'm sure you heard the rumors about me; what the Death Eaters whisper about me, about my display of dark magic in the Department of Mysteries."

"Yes," said Draco quietly, frowning at him. "I heard about that… they believe that you could become a Necromancer…" His eyes widened, and he gasped out, "Your eyes… all-black… it's said that a Necromancer's eyes are like that…" He shuddered, before he demanded sharply, "So, it's true? You're a Necromancer?"

"I am," said Orion tonelessly. "Surely, unfledged, but I have the power." He dropped his arms from their tight hold around his knees, and he crouched, seating down on his heels, piercing his friend with his eyes, as he smirked without feeling. "Do you want to know why you felt as if I was a Dementor feeding on your soul? How can I explain it… Well, I was experimenting with a Necromantic spell, a very advanced one, to magnify my abilities…"

His smirked widened, contorting into a pained thing, as he continued with an exultant voice, "Oh, I casted it correctly. It was perfect, as powerful as I expected it to be! But just as consuming. You felt that way, because I WAS feeding on your soul, Draco. I had the powers of a Dementor, I would have killed you, Draco; I wouldn't have stopped. That was the hunger. The hunger for you; for your soul, that's what I was seeing when I looked at you, when I said you were beautiful-"

"That's rubbish, you stopped-"

"Because of Voldemort!" yelled Orion anxiously. "Because of the pain caused by his anger, the pain in my scar, and because he summoned me and my Black Heir ring burned me. I wouldn't have stopped!"

He shook his head, glancing away from Draco, while he whispered bitterly under his breath, "The hunger overtook me, just like it happened to him… I'm like him, I have his blood in my veins, after all."

He tightly fisted his hands, his knuckles turning white, as he muttered inaudibly, "But I'm more than him, more powerful. I know the consequences now, and by Merlin that I'll learn to master it! That's the only way; that is, after all, my purpose-"

"You're babbling again," snapped Draco with short-temperedness. "What do you mean that you'll master it? You're referring to that insane spell you cast on yourself? You're not trying that again!"

Orion glanced at him, startled, before his lips slowly curved upwards. "Yes, I'm talking about the spell. And indeed, I'll try it again-"

"The spell that made you behave like a crazed Dementor-like being? That made you want to suck me dry from my soul?! You're an idiot if you try it again, and I'll certainly not be around – you could have killed me!" spat Draco furiously, seizing his shoulders in a tight clutch. His face became stony, and he added sharply, "The spell that made you see my soul, which you say was the reason you considered me beautiful." His fingers painfully sunk into Orion's shoulders. "Tell me, was that the reason why you kissed me, why you wanted to have sex with me? I was just a willing body with a flashy soul?"

Orion stared back into his enraged eyes, seeing the hurt there, and his own eyes softened, and he said sincerely, while he traced his thumb along Draco's abused lips, "No, the spell wasn't the only reason why I wanted to have sex with you. True, your soul was enticing, pure, untarnished, and beautiful, but so are you. I saw us together, you know? In a dream... I saw what happened at first, between us. I saw a part of what happened today. It was a weird coincidence, surely, for I am no Seer."

He smiled at him, still caressing Draco's lower lip, briefly glancing fixedly at it. "But I know now, that I desire you. I know, because what I felt under the spell was just like something I read; the description of how another wizard felt towards the woman he loved when he casted the same spell on him. He wanted to consume her in the end, too. For him, her soul was the most precious and beautiful thing, and he hungered for it. But he didn't end up consuming her soul. Firstly, because the spell didn't make him react so strongly as it did on me, since truthfully, I'm more powerful than him. Secondly, because he was driven to insanity before he could manage to Kiss her. And finally, because she was long dead, and even if he tried numerous times to get her back by using the spell, he failed in the end. I believe, given what the book described, that the wizard would have ended up consuming her soul, when under the influence of the spell, if he had lived long enough." He heavily sighed. "Regardless, when I was under the spell, I felt towards you what he felt towards her. Thus, now I know that I desire and want you."

"You do?" said Draco quietly, piercing him with his silvery eyes. Then, he grunted, "What about Lezander? You say that the half-breed is alive-"

"I haven't seen Lezander in ages," said Orion frowning, glancing away from him. "But he has nothing to do with it. Voldemort, on the other hand-"

"The Dark Lord just uses you to amuse himself!" spat Draco furiously. "You're just his plaything, something pretty to fuck. My parents were in the right when they wanted to form a marital union between us. We can tell my mother, and she can halt negotiations with Astoria's parents-"

"Stop!" interrupted Orion, his frown deepening, troubled, as he pressed his palm on Draco's mouth, shutting him up. He gazed at him, and said quietly, "Listen to me, Draco. Yes, I am attracted to you, I desire and want you, but it won't change anything. I can't act on it. If Astoria Greengrass if whom you want for a spouse, then let Narcissa carry on the negotiations, because I will never be your spouse, Draco. Do you understand?"

"Why the hell not?" snapped Draco angrily, wrenching Orion's hand away from his mouth, glowering at him. "We like each other, we've been close friends since we were ten-year-old boys, there's attraction, there's desire, we're both Blacks but not brothers, thus our heir will be a powerful dark wizard or witch due to our combined bloodlines, and the union of our Houses and fortunes will make us more influential than we already are!"

"Yes, I agree," said Orion quietly, "but I cannot. I can't even offer to become lovers, because I don't think I'm ready to complicate and endanger our lives so stupidly-"

"I don't want you as a mere lover!" spat Draco heatedly. "I can have you as a spouse, so I want that-"

"That's the problem, you can't have me as a spouse," snapped Orion, with exasperated frustration. "You can't, because I'm already married, Draco! To Voldemort!"

"WHAT?!" choke out Draco, reeling backwards, staring at him with startled eyes, holding a hint of betrayed hurt, accusing fury, and confusion.

Orion carded his fingers through his hair, glancing away from him, his body still shivering. But he forced his mind to pull itself together, to be calm and not crumble due to what had happened. He needed to regain his composure, he needed to think clearly.

Immediately, he stood up and wandlessly accioed his wand, spelling their discarded clothes on them. Then, he picked up the Black Heir and Gaunt rings, careful of not touching the stone of either of them, and he quickly dropped them inside his robes' pocket, where the new horcrux was already kept.

He gazed down at Draco, and extended a hand towards him, mutely offering to pull him to his feet.

Draco ignored it, standing up on his own, and he snarled furiously, "Are you going to stand there in silence? Aren't you going to explain it to me?"

"What do you want me to explain?" said Orion tiredly. "I'm his spouse, and that's all there is to it-"

"You can tell me when it happened!" yelled Draco angrily, his silvery eyes flashing dark with his fury. "You can tell me why the fuck you did it! You can tell me why you didn't tell me before-"

"I didn't tell you," interrupted Orion quietly, "because Narcissa made me promise. I didn't agree with her decision to keep it a secret from you, but I complied nonetheless. She seemed to believe it was necessary. It happened during Christmas break, it was a magical bonding ceremony held in Black Manor, attended by Death Eaters, Dark Allies, and other supporters. Calypso was there, and Remus Lupin – an old friend of my father- and yes, your mother also attended. And no, Lezander wasn't there, he's in Zraven Citadel, and I only saw him once, very briefly -that's when I found out that he was alive- a long time after the Department of Mysteries fiasco. But I don't know if he's aware that I'm married, either." And then he added sourly, thinking about the spirits, "Though his parents must have found out by now."

"My mother knew, and she didn't tell me?" said Draco outraged, though his silvery eyes held hurt betrayal.

"Don't blame her," interjected Orion, "even if she had wanted to, later, she couldn't have told you. Everyone had to sign a magical contract, binding them to be unable to speak of the ceremony, or even share the memory of it. She asked me to keep quiet, because Voldemort and I are the only ones who can tell."

"Still," said Draco crisply, "it was her idea to ask you to keep it from me."

"Because she loves you; because she was worried about how you would take it, and you had enough with your appointed task to repair the cabinet and kill Dumbledore."

Draco angrily shook his head, before he pierced Orion's with his eyes, roughly clutching his shoulders. "What about this - what happened here today? You say you want me-"

"It doesn't matter if I want you, that's not important!" snapped Orion, jerkily carding his fingers through his hair. He shuddered, horrified, though he gazed down at his body, touching his chest, for he still felt a strange warmth inside him, and he whispered inaudibly, "Don't you see that I have absorbed some of your essence? I wonder what this means for us… I didn't suck your soul, but I fed from it, very briefly… I have some of you inside me… I wonder… does this constitute a bond between us?"

"Of course it matters if you want us to be together!" spat Draco angrily, his grasp on Orion's shoulder becoming painful. "Alright, you're married to the Dark Lord, but you can undo it if you want to, can't you? You can kill him-"

"What?!" gasped out Orion, jostled out of his troubled musings, his eyes snapping to Draco's determined silvery eyes. He clenched his jaw, and bit out, "What are you saying, Draco? You're a Death Eater, how can you-"

"But I never wanted to become one!" snarled Draco bitterly. "You know this. Even my father was trying to find a way so that I could avoid taking the Dark Mark. I have it now, but it doesn't mean that I like it." He bore his eyes into Orion's, and added fiercely, "You're always saying that you're powerful – then prove it! Kill him-"

"I won't kill him," spat Orion angrily, clutching Draco's collar. "How can you say this? However unwillingly, you took the Dark Mark, you owe him your allegiance! We are not traitors to the Dark and I will not have you stab him on the back-"

Draco snidely snorted, and he hissed out, "You were about to fuck me, doesn't that mean that you betrayed him – your spouse!"

"It wasn't betrayal," gritted out Orion. "I didn't shag you in the end." He waved his hand dismissively, and added calmly, "Even if I had, it's largely accepted for married purebloods to have lovers. There's nothing wrong with that. Regardless, you're not my lover; nothing happened-"

"Bollocks it didn't!" spat Draco, his silvery eyes flashing in anger. "We were about to shag, I agreed to allow you to top – I've never allowed anyone… Doesn't that mean anything to you?!"

Orion heaved in a deep breath, and eyeing him carefully he said quietly, "It does mean something to me, Draco. But as I said, I can offer nothing to you, not what you want. I'm married already, and I won't kill him. He's powerful, we need him for the war, and-"

"And you have feelings for him, is that it?" jeered Draco with disgust.

"Yes, I do," replied Orion calmly, gazing up at him. "I've always admitted this to you."

Draco roughly released him, his jaw tightly clenching as he looked away. His posture became rigid, and he said stiffly, "Very well. You want to remain his spouse, I can deal with that." He glanced at him, piercing him with his eyes, and added in a tight voice, "You can't be my spouse but we can be lovers. I rather have you as a lover than not have you at all."

"We can't be lovers, either," interjected Orion quietly, carding his fingers through his hair with troubled frustration. He let out a dry, mirthless chuckle, and said sharply, "Be thankful that he won't know with whom I was today. I'll tell him that I was about to shag Lavender or something like that-"

"Explain that to me," demanded Draco stiffly, piercing him with his eyes. "Before, you said something about the Dark Lord sensing your feelings through a 'link' between you. You said he would know that you were about to have sex with someone but that he wouldn't know with whom. How does that work?"

"I have a link with him due to my scar," replied Orion, briefly touching his glamoured, invisible scar. "It's because I survived his Killing Curse when I was a baby. It… bonded us, in some way. Sometimes, he senses what I feel if my emotions are intense enough, and I can also feel his anger as pain in my scar. And I'm fairly certain that my Black Heir ring was spelled to let him know if I had the intention of becoming physically involved with someone." He frowned deeply, and muttered, "That's why he summoned me when I saw Lezander alive, but he also said that he had caught a glimpse of Lezander through the link… it's possible, just as I can sometimes see through his eyes…"

He shook his head, and added, "Nevertheless, I'm sure he hasn't seen you, not only because of my Occlumency barriers, but because I was infused with my Necromantic abilities. There's no way that he could have seen through my mind when it was completely enveloped with the detachment and numbness of my Necromantic powers - I'm sure about that." He grasped Draco's shoulders, and said sharply, "Nevertheless, he might suspect, therefore you must occlude all of this from him. I'm sure he won't subject you to a Legilimency attack; he can't, because he needs you to fulfill your task, so he won't risk damaging you."

"Fine," said Draco crisply. "Of course I'll keep all of this from him, I'm not an idiot. But I don't see why we can't be together if the Dark Lord has no way to know that you're with me. We can be lovers; I'm willing to accept that. As you rightly pointed out, it's usual for married couples to have lovers-"

"Do you think he'll allow me to have lovers, Draco?" interrupted Orion, with a dry, sharp laugh. "Don't be stupid, he'll kill anyone whom I approach with that intent. He might not know about whom I was with today, but he could find out if we stayed together!"

"Then stand up to him!" spat Draco angrily, clutching his shoulders. "You have the right to have a lover if you want to. So claim that right! You've always allowed the Dark Lord to control you, and it's disgusting. If you're as powerful as you claim to be, then face him and demand to do what you wish!" He gazed at Orion, and sneered, "Or are you just a submissive, obedient, little wife who likes to take it up the arse?"

Orion's eyes flashed in anger, and he swiftly crushed Draco against the wall, pressing his forearm against the young wizard's throat, and he hissed out, "That I like to bottom in the bedroom has nothing to do with submissiveness, Draco. Watch it – I will not allow you to insult me." His gazed briefly flickered to Draco's parted lips, struggling for breath, and he added in a sharp whisper, "But you're right. I do mean to stand up to him, now that I can; now that I know myself to be powerful enough not only to defend myself but also to defeat him, if I must."

Struggling to breathe, Draco's gaze fixed on Orion's lips, and he said in between haggard pants, "You know you want to…"

"To kiss you?" said Orion, smirking at him. "To fuck you?"

"Yes," breathed out Draco, his cheeks flushed, his silvery eyes glinting as he gazed at him, his lips curving smugly. "And to be fucked by me."

"Yes, I do," said Orion, his eyes fixed on Draco's parted lips. He briefly kissed them with his own, slowly trailing his tongue over Draco's puffed out lower lip, before he pulled away, and whispered sharply in Draco's ear, "Nevertheless, even if I decided to claim my right to have a lover, I will not act in a manner that will result in an open confrontation between Voldemort and me, because we're spouses and I will not stupidly duel him when we could damage each other beyond repair."

Swiftly, he stepped away from Draco, leaving the young wizard to catch his breath against the wall, and he said in a steely tone of voice, "Voldemort is my spouse and I love him, Draco. That won't change, even if I had a lover. Furthermore, I'm not ready to complicate my life by taking you as a lover. Yes, I want you, but I won't act on it. He would eventually find out and it would endanger your life, and I'm not willing to risk it. Moreover, both you and I have much more important things to be worried about; we can't afford to indulge ourselves by becoming lovers. You see this, don't you?"

"Yes, I do," replied Draco haggardly, quickly straightening up while he smoothed his robes with a hand. He pierced him with his eyes, and added sharply, "Fine, it's dangerous for us if we became lovers now. I don't want the Dark Lord to know either. But later, when I'm done with my task, I'm willing to take the risk. I won't allow others to dictate my life, and that includes the Dark Lord. I'm a Death Eater but that doesn't mean that I can't be with whomever I want, even if it's with the Dark Lord's spouse. And you shouldn't allow him to dictate with who you are either. When all this mess is done, I want to be with you." He grasped Orion's chin, and demanded, "You say you love the Dark Lord, but tell me, can't you love me as well?"

Orion gazed back at him, and said quietly, "What Voldemort and I have is complicated, but it's intense, Draco, and no amount of lovers will sever it. Nevertheless, yes, I think I could love you as well, differently of how I love him. But will you be satisfied in only being lovers? I can offer you nothing more."

"Yes, it would be enough," replied Draco flatly. "As I told you, I rather have you as a lover than not have you at all. You're already married and you don't want to change that, therefore, I'll allow my mother to go through with her plans for my marriage to Astoria Greengrass. I'll do my duty to the Malfoy name, but I'll be with whomever I want. Tell me, when I'm done with my task, will you be willing to become lovers?"

Orion deeply frowned at him, carding his fingers through his hair. "I'm willing to explore this between us, but I don't know when. After you complete your task, you say? I don't know. It would depend on the circumstances, Draco. We don't know what will happen after you're done. I think we should only risk it if we see that we can become lovers without complicating matters and uselessly endangering ourselves. I can stand up to Voldemort, telling him that I have a right to have a lover, but he won't easily accept it. Indeed, I'm pretty certain that even if he told me he did, he wouldn't really; he would seek to kill my love interest. And I'm not willing to complicate my life to such a degree. Let's wait and see, alright? No promises, no expectations. Let's just wait, since both of us have much to do."

"Alright," said Draco, smirking at him. "We'll wait. I'm a Malfoy, after all; I know that cunning patience is a virtue."

"Yes it is," agreed Orion, with a sharp nod. He scrutinized him, and said curtly, "No matter what happens, we're part of the Dark, Draco, and I don't want to hear anything about betraying or killing the Dark Lord-"

"I know," drawled Draco impassively. "The Dark needs a leader like the Dark Lord, even if I don't personally like him. The Dark can't afford to lose someone so powerful." He pierced him with his eyes, and added casually, "For now."

"Right," said Orion gruffly, before he waved a hand dismissively.

He took some steps back, leaning on the desk, and heavily sighed while he rubbed his throbbing forehead. The pain had subdued but he knew that Voldemort must still be trying to activate the Black Heir ring portkey, without any results. He would have to see the wizard soon, and he would have to disclose that he was able to remove the ring from his finger…

Orion groaned as he kept massaging his temples, briefly touching his chest, still feeling the strange but pleasant warmth there - caused by whatever tiny amounts of soul essence he had stolen from Draco… It was a mess. He didn't know what this implied since no wizard had ever sucked bits of a soul's essence… Not even a Necromancer had done that, if he didn't want to become a Dementor… That bloody Resurrection Stone… He wondered what this made him now… what it meant for Draco and him to be linked thus… It was a connection, surely, but he felt nothing else but a pleasant warmth inside him…

He closed his eyes, tiredly rubbing them. Today's events had been exhausting, saddening, and frightening; between transferring the piece of soul to a new receptacle, seeing the distorted Tom Riddle, creating a new horcrux with the Black heirloom, using the Resurrection Stone and then almost becoming a Dementor… For he knew that if he had sucked Draco's entire soul, that was exactly what he would have become, with no way of reversing it…

With a frisson of horror, Orion shuddered, before he cleared his mind from such thoughts. He snapped his eyes open and saw Draco intently observing him, with a worried expression on his face and with warm fondness in his eyes, though the boy soon pulled a mask of cool indifference over his features when he saw him gazing back at him.

"How did you get in this room?" said Orion quietly, standing away from the desk.

"Please," scoffed Draco. "Do you think that I wouldn't be able to cancel the locking spell you casted on the door? It was strong, surely, but I can manage to cancel such spells if I want to."

"Right," interjected Orion acerbically, "but I told you not to come in-"

"Oh, but I had good news," said Draco, widely smirking at him. "I found all the dark spells mentioned in Borgin's instructions. I took a lot of notes from the books in Slytherin's library. Now, I'll be able to understand great part of the instructions." His smirk turned smugly triumphant. "I'll be able to repair the cabinet in a month or so, before the school year ends. The Dark Lord will be pleased with me."

"Yes, your task, of course," said Orion distractedly, while he remembered something and perused one of his pockets. Finally, he took out a small vial half-filled with a swirling golden liquid. He held it up to Draco, and said nonchalantly, "This is a present for you. Do you recognize what it is?"

Draco took a step forward, grabbing the vial and intently inspecting it. His eyebrows shot upwards, and he gazed at Orion with a smirk on his face. "Felix Felicis… the one you won during our first Potion class, I surmise… You're giving it to me?"

"Yes," said Orion coolly, "there's enough there to bring you 'luck' for three hours or so. I would recommend drinking it when you've understood all of Borgin's instructions, and when you're prepared to cast the spells to repair the cabinet. When do you think you'll do that?"

"Mid June, I estimate," replied Draco, gazing at the vial in his hand with intense satisfaction. "I'll surely manage to repair the cabinet with this."

"Yes, but I want you to contact me with the two-way mirror the instant you fix the cabinet," said Orion sternly. "You must let me know when the Death Eaters will use it to come into the school, and when you'll be facing Dumbledore because-"

"Because you want to be by my side when I kill Dumbledore, because of the Unbreakable Vow you took," interjected Draco, looking up at him. "Yes, I will, don't worry."

"Thanks," said Orion curtly.

Draco smirked at him, and said silkily, "No, thank you, for this, and for bringing me here." He sauntered to Orion's side and slowly carded his fingers through Orion's hair, bringing his face down, as he murmured, "We make a good team, don't you think?"

Orion stiffened and pulled his face away when he felt Draco's lips brushing against his, and he said flatly, "No, Draco. No kisses or caresses from now on-"

"Ah, yes, we have to wait," said Draco, smirking at him while he pulled back and nonchalantly leaned on the desk. He waved a hand dismissively, and drawled, "Very well. So now, what?"

"Now," said Orion pointedly, "I take you back to the school. Go to your dorm and use your notes to review and understand Borgin's instructions. I'll have to get back here in order to activate my portkey." He shook his head, and added angrily, "Voldemort has never summoned me through my Black Heir ring while I'm at Hogwarts; he knows it's too dangerous because the school's wards could detect the use of a portkey. Nevertheless, here, inside Slytherin's chambers, I'll be able to use it, since it's warded against the detection of magic, and the chamber's wards also allow me to apparate and portkey. I have to thank, at least, that all of this happened while we were in here; Dumbledore won't know about it. But by Merlin that Voldemort was stupidly careless in his anger, or perhaps he did it on purpose. It doesn't matter; I'm going to give him a piece of my mind."

Draco arched an eyebrow. "You're truly going to stand up to him? What are you going to tell him?"

"Oh, yes, I am going to stand up to him; I have much to discuss with him," said Orion sharply, his eyes flashing in anger. "Nevertheless, you have nothing to worry about; he won't know I was with you."

He straightened up, and grasped Draco's arm. "Let's go to Slytherin's library. You'll pick up your notes and then I'll get you back to the girls' bathroom of the second floor."

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Orion was back in Slytherin's study, alone, fuming and his mind swirling with angry, troubled, and confused thoughts. He didn't quite understand what had happened with Draco; surely, he had always been attracted to his friend in same way or another, but not with the intense desire he felt at present. It could be because he had seen Draco's pure, exquisite soul, because he had hungered for it as much as Cadmus had hungered first for Eloise's soul, and then for any soul when the wizard had unrestrictedly plunged into the Necromantic Arts, becoming so obsessed and consumed that it finally turned him into a Dementor.

The Resurrection Stone had affected him just as it had affected Cadmus, but also more powerfully, more inexorably, and he knew that it was because he wielded stronger dark magic than Cadmus. Nevertheless, the problem was that he had fed from Draco's soul, not enough to affect Draco in any prolonged way, but now he had some tiny bit of Draco inside him. And that could be the thing fueling his desire for the boy… bonding them together in some unique and unheard-of way…

He shook his head. There was nothing he could do about that. It had happened and he would have to learn to deal with it. Surely, he wanted Draco, but he was able to disregard it – for now. He would worry about it in the distant future. He was certainly not prepared to take Draco as a lover; that would be too complicated and risky at present. And quite frankly, even if he could love Draco as a lover, it wouldn't match what he felt for Voldemort. He knew that Voldemort would always be the most esteemed person to him; there was no denying it.

On the other hand, he now understood what Sebastien and Grindelwald had told him. He did want to be able to have lovers if he desired it. He wanted that freedom for himself. And he believed he had the right to claim it, just like all purebloods did. He wanted to fight for it, to experience it, even if he knew that he wouldn't take a lover any time soon, and even if he knew that no lover would be loved by him as much as he loved Voldemort.

Regardless, his love life wasn't something he should be worrying about at present. It was inconsequential when compared to all the things he had yet to do - his aim of becoming the Vindico. He had to focus on that, and becoming the Vindico was directly related to mastering the Resurrection Stone.

Carefully, he plucked out the Gaunt ring from his pocket, grasping it by its band, not touching the Resurrection Stone since he didn't want it to affect him. He placed it on top of the mahogany desk, inspecting it with a deep frown on his face, unwittingly shuddering.

He saw the Resurrection Stone for what it was, of course. It was to him what the Mayan Stone was to Voldemort. He remembered their heated discussion about the Mayan Stone quite clearly, it had been during their one-day 'respite' – ergo, honeymoon, though Voldemort refused to call it by such paltry, contemptible, romantic muggle word. Nevertheless, it would be useful to review that memory in person.

With a deep frown, he pressed his wand's tip against the side of his forehead, and casted the nonverbal spell to pluck out the memory. Slowly, he moved the wand's tip away from his temple, drawing with it a silver, liquid-like thread. He flicked his wand, making the swirl of memory remain suspended in mid air. Then, he prepared himself to cast a crafty, little dark spell that Grindelwald had taught him – it wasn't as good as using a pensieve, but it was efficient enough for his purposes.

He aimed his wand at the thread of memory, and said, "Visualiza memoria!"

A bright blue beam shot from his wand, hitting the silver, liquid thread, and at once, it rapidly expanded and spread, forming a huge mantle that surrounded him as if it were a wide screen, the memory unfolding for him to watch…

Orion sat up with crossed legs and leveled Voldemort with a hard gaze. "I mean that using the Stone frequently isn't a wise idea."

"Why not?" hissed Voldemort sharply, sitting up as well. "You controlled yourself in the end. You saw what we could do with a simple Bombarda. Imagine what could be done with the Cruciatus, Imperius, or Killing Curse!"

"That's exactly what I fear," snapped Orion. "You told me long ago that the American Unspeakables who studied the Stone thought that the Mayan leader, priest, or whatever he was, used the Stone without being able to control it, causing not only his demise but the extermination of an entire civilization and race-"

"Because he couldn't control it, because he was weak," interrupted Voldemort curtly. "We aren't."

"Or because he became addicted to it," retorted Orion, piercing him with a hard stare. "Because the power corrupted him, making him a mindless slave to it."

"Corrupted him?" said Voldemort with a snide laughter. "Power doesn't corrupt; power makes you great, rising you above all others."

"Absolute power corrupts absolutely," snapped Orion. "That's one muggle saying which applies perfectly to the situation."

"You're such a little hypocrite," snarled Voldemort, gripping Orion's chin. "I saw how you enjoyed it. I experienced the consequences of it when you were still filled by the lingering power rushing through you. And now you want to make me believe that you don't covet more? That you aren't hungry for it? "

"That's the problem," said Orion sharply, "I am hungry for more, and for that reason alone, I must restrain myself, as should you-"

"Only the weak fear-"

"Bollocks, Tom," interrupted Orion heatedly. "Only the weak would mindlessly succumb to the pull of the Stone, without thinking about the consequences to themselves and others. Only the weak would become addicted to that bloody thing which could have the power of taking over your magic. It destroyed a civilization before, Tom!"

"There's no conclusive evidence about that," said Voldemort sharply.

"I don't require evidence," interjected Orion. "Suspicions alone are enough for me." He pierced him with his eyes, and demanded, "What do you want to use the Stone for, anyway?"

Voldemort deviously smirked at him. "To win the war."

With a deep frown, Orion flicked his wand, cancelling the spell and making the swirl of memory sink back into his head and mind.

Yes, it was quite clear, the Resurrection Stone was just as threatening as the Mayan Stone, but now he understood Voldemort completely, as he often found himself doing lately. Both Stones had the power of controlling who attempted to control them; both artifacts made the user hunger for more power, with the risk of overcoming and controlling the user, making the user a mindless puppet to the Stone's power… Nevertheless, just as Voldemort wanted to control the Mayan Stone to use it during the war, he wanted to control the Resurrection Stone for the war as well, to become the Vindico.

Orion heavily sighed. He had been naïve back then and Voldemort had been right. No matter the risks of being controlled and corrupted by the Resurrection Stone, he had to master it, just like Voldemort wanted to master the Mayan Stone. No matter his misgivings, and the frisson of fearful apprehension he felt towards allowing himself to experience the power of the Resurrection Stone once again, he would need to wear it often; he would need to practice until he learned to control it.

He flicked his wand at a drawer, and then at the Gaunt ring, making it plop into the open drawer.

Orion narrowed his eyes at it, and whispered sharply, "I will learn to control you. I'm not Cadmus. You won't drive me mad; you won't turn me into a Dementor. I will master you."

And he would ask for Grindelwald's help. If there was something he knew, it was that intense pain brought back his senses to him, and he was certain that the old wizard would be more than willing to cast at him sadistic torturing curses when he was wearing the Gaunt ring. He would practice with Grindelwald, since under the influence of the Resurrection Stone he might attempt to suck the wizard's soul but he was more than certain that the old man could defend himself, unlike Draco. Yes, he would repeatedly subject himself to the influence of the Stone until he managed to control it and himself. And there was no doubt that Grindelwald would greatly enjoy the perks of subjecting him to pain.

With a fond smile for the old wizard, Orion closed the drawer and cast several potent wards on it; he would retrieve the Gaunt ring later, to take it with him to Durmstrang and then Potter Manor.

Without any further ado, he masked his face with utter calmness and brought out the Black Heir ring from his robes' pocket. Swiftly, he put it on and tapped it with his wand's tip.

Instantly, he felt a pull around his navel, everything around him tightening while he was enveloped in a swirling mesh of colors.

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Abruptly, his feet landed on hard stone floors, and his invisible scar flared with new waves of pain. Gritting his teeth together, he gazed up and saw that he was in Voldemort's summoning chamber in Riddle Manor. Just then, he saw several cloaked and masked Death Eaters surrounding Voldemort's throne, who swiftly pressed their wands to their Dark Marks, dissapparating when Voldemort waved a hand at them.

Clenching his jaw, Orion gazed at Voldemort through the expanse of the dimly lit room, holding the wizard's crimson stare. Voldemort was coolly seated on his throne-like chair, his handsome face revealing nothing, though Orion could feel his anger as waves of pain bursting from his scar.

He stood rooted in his place, his shoulders straight, and he pulled mantles of Occlumency shields around his mind, trying to mute the pain.

At last, when Voldemort did nothing but gaze at him, Orion arched an eyebrow, and hissed nonchalantly, "You summoned me?"

"I did, quite a while ago," replied Voldemort in a deceptively calm and quiet voice, still elegantly seated on his throne. "Can you tell me how it is that I activated your portkey from my end, yet, it didn't work?"

"Can you tell me why you activated my portkey knowing that I was at Hogwarts?" countered Orion, narrowing his eyes at him. "Aren't you aware that Dumbledore could have been alerted by the school's wards if my ring had indeed portkeyed me here?"

Voldemort smirked at him, and it was a viciously menacing thing. "Yet, here you are. You must have portkeyed from the Forbidden Forest, well outside Hogwarts' wards, or…" His eyes narrowed. "Or you portkeyed from Slytherin's quarters."

"Yes, luckily for both of us, I immediately went to Slytherin's quarters after feeling your summon," said Orion in clipped tones. "Before then, I was rather busy catching up with some interesting reading in my dorm-"

Startled, he gasped when, in a swirl of black smoke, Voldemort disappeared from the throne, just to appear right in front of him, smashing him against the wall.

"You were rather busy in kissing and lusting after someone, weren't you?" hissed Voldemort in a deadly tone, his fingers wrapping tightly around Orion's throat while he pinned him against the wall with his body. "Do you take me for a fool, boy? Do you think I didn't experience your desire? Do you think I don't know you had the intention of fucking someone!"

"You might have felt my desire, but you didn't experience all what I did," snarled Orion, violently pushing him back with all the considerable strength he could muster. Instantly, he ripped the Black Heir from his finger, flinging it to Voldemort's chest, as he spat angrily, "You know I was about to shag someone because of the spell you casted on my ring! That's also how you knew what had happened when I saw Lezander alive, because I wanted to kiss him at some point, and the spell on the ring alerted you about that. And who knows how many times it has alerted you! How dare you-"

"How dare I what?" hissed Voldemort furiously, stalking towards him. "Ensure that my own spouse won't cuckold me?!"

"I wasn't your spouse when you spelled my ring!" yelled Orion madly. "I was just a young, stupid boy asking you to help me free my father from Azkaban, and you used that opportunity to turn my ring not only into a portkey but into an invasive thing that would tell you when I wanted to be intimate with someone!" He gazed at him with utter disgust. "I was just a child - how dare you monitor me during all these years in such way! You had no right then, and you have no right now-"

Voldemort roughly gripped his face with a hand, painfully sinking his fingers into Orion's cheeks, and he hissed enraged, "I did it to be aware of what you did back then, since I didn't lust for you when you were just a child, but I did want to have a say about with whom you'd be married off to. And you willingly came to me to ask me to help your father, thus, I was in my right to spell your ring however I saw fit. And for more reason now that you're my wayward spouse." He brought his face inches away from his, and demanded menacingly, his crimson eyes flashing in fury, making a surge of pain burst from Orion's forehead, "Why are you able to remove the ring from your finger? And with whom were you?"

"I'm able to remove my ring," gritted out Orion, through the pain of his scar, "because I cancelled the non-removability spell from it. That's why I wasn't instantly portkeyed here when you activated my ring. I felt your summon and quickly withdrew the ring from my finger." He nastily smirked at him. "Now, I'm able to do that. Now, you can't sweep me away from my surroundings whenever you fancy – as if I was one more of your pathetic followers! I'm your spouse, not-"

"Yes, MY spouse," hissed Voldemort furiously, his grip on Orion's face becoming unbearably painful. "Tell me who you wanted to fuck!" His crimson eyes dangerously narrowed, and he instantly pressed his wand against Orion's forehead. "Or did you remove the ring in order to continue with what you were doing – did you fuck someone?!"

"I didn't fuck anyone," snarled Orion, wrenching Voldemort's fingers from his face, defiantly gazing back at him. "It doesn't mean, however, that I didn't want to. You had a way to be alerted about what I did, but I don't. Tell me, have you fucked anyone since we became spouses? I'm very aware that Bella resides here, just as many of the Death Eaters we broke out from Azkaban years ago." He narrowed his eyes at him, and snapped furiously, "You had a way to monitor me but I have to way to monitor you! How do I know that you haven't-"

"Oh, this is precious," jeered Voldemort, "you're jealous of Bellatrix?" He smirked viciously. "Yes, I could have fucked her as many times as I wished." His smirk widened, and he spat snidely, "Nevertheless, whenever I wish to pound into someone, I always summon you, my little serpent." He mockingly caressed Orion's cheek, raking his fingernails on his skin. "Indeed, there's no one so willing to spread their legs for me as you are. You are such a willing, beautiful whore, aren't you?"

"Fuck you, Tom!" snarled Orion enraged, instantly whipping out his wand and pressing it against Voldemort's throat. "I'm no whore-"

"Yet you were about to fuck someone!" hissed Voldemort furiously, sinking his wand's tip into Orion's forehead. "No more dallying, either you tell me or I rip the truth from your mind!"

"I dare you," spat Orion, narrowing his eyes at him. He nastily smirked at him. "Yes, indeed, I dare you, Tom. We both know what happens when you attempt to Legilimize me and I counter-attack in the same way. It has happened before, remember? The intense pain – without us being able to extract anything from each other's mind? If you want to try again, I can certainly oblige."

Voldemort's eyes seemed to spit fire, and they glinted with insane fury, just before he roared, "Crucio!"

Instantly, Orion swerved to a side, having expected just that, and the curse flew over his head. Swiftly, he shot forward a spread hand which burst with an intense spurt of black flames. In the bat of an eye, the flames had Voldemort tightly surrounded, and Orion jumped behind the wizard, standing on his tiptoes to wrap an arm over Voldemort's chest.

He brought his face to the wizard's ear, and whispered sharply, "Listen to me, Tom. It doesn't matter who I wanted to shag. I didn't go through with it, and yes, it was because of the pain you caused through our link and the burning caused by my ring when you summoned me. Nevertheless, in the end, I didn't fuck anyone. Do you hear?"

"But you had the intention to, you admitted as much," hissed Voldemort furiously, turning around his neck to side-glance at him, his crimson eyes narrowed and enraged. He viciously smirked, and added, "And do you truly think that I can be stopped by your dark magic? I'm not afraid of pain, my little serpent."

Swiftly, Voldemort turned around inside his cage of black flames, startling Orion who took a stumbling step backward, just as Voldemort's hands shot through the black flames, one hand tightly gripping Orion's throat, the other aiming his wand at Orion, while Voldemort spat, "Severita dolum!"

Orion shrieked in pain, still held up by Voldemort's fingers around his throat, while a deep gash tore open on his chest, blood spurting everywhere, his rib cage feeling as if it was about to snap and crush inwards. But he bit on his tongue, halting his scream, while he maintained the flow of his dark magic, fueling the dark flames which surrounded Voldemort.

With watery eyes, Orion pressed a palm against his torn, bleeding chest while he gazed at Voldemort, seeing the wizard's wrists being licked by the black flames of dark magic, peeling off scorched flesh and skin; Voldemort's face -faintly visible through the wall of fire- impassive, not expressing an ounce of pain while his wrists kept being consumed by the dark flames.

One of Voldemort's hand still clutched the wand, while the other was tightly gripping Orion's throat, and Orion saw that the wizard was about to cast another curse; surely the wizard would keep casting until he was subjected to so much pain that he would lose the control over his dark flames.

"Stop this," said Orion through gritted teeth, clawing at Voldemort's fingers which kept tightening around his throat. "Let's discuss matters calmly. STOP THIS, you fool! Your wrists!"

"I don't care about pain," hissed Voldemort enraged, his crimson eyes flashing madly. "Crucio!"

The curse inevitably struck Orion, since he was still held in place by Voldemort's grip on his throat, and his body violently convulsed while he was encompassed by wrecking waves of pain which felt as if his nerve-endings were snapping apart. But he was very used to such pain; he didn't scream this time and he was able to think through the burning waves of pain which attempted to ravage him.

He flung out his hands and instantly wrapped himself in his violently animated dark magic, feeling it rising and pouring out of him in an unleashed burst of blackness, just as he wanted, just as he directed it to do.

Orion dropped to his knees, haggardly breathing, his body still jerkily trembling and his torn chest still spurting alarming amounts of blood, as he caught sight of Voldemort being aggressively swooped into the air by a violent whirlpool of dark magic.

Wrapping an arm over his aching chest, he crouched on his knees, a palm still shot forward as he controlled his raw dark magic, making the now empty cage of flames vanish, recalling that magic back into him. In the mean time, he maintained alive the raw dark magic that had Voldemort trapped in a black vortex, while the wizard was furiously shouting curses. But all of them missed him, flying over his head or striking the floor and walls.

Orion cast a powerful shielding spell around himself to block any incoming curses, before he flicked his wand at his open chest, casting a healing spell; gritting his teeth together while his skin started to painfully knit back together. Then, he took a deep intake of breath, and jerked his spread palm to a side.

Instantly, the whirlpool of raw dark magic crashed Voldemort against a wall, and he saw the wizard slump to the floor, momentarily dazed. The minute he saw Voldemort about to jump to his feet, he fisted his hand, making his dark magic trap and pin the wizard on the floor, covered by a thick mantle of dense blackness.

Shakily standing up, his body aching in pain, Orion approached the wizard, who was spread eagled on the floor. Swiftly, he straddled Voldemort's waist, while his dark magic kept immobilizing the wizard, just as he directed it to do. His raw dark magic was now pulsing all around them, and it enveloped them in a mist of dense blackness, particularly thick around Voldemort, keeping him locked in place. Voldemort was fiercely struggling to break free, albeit without results, and his enraged crimson eyes snapped to Orion's as soon as he felt Orion's weight on him.

"What is this?" he demanded in a low, furious hiss. "The strange dark magic you've occasionally produced? You can control it – how? Since when?"

"It's my raw dark magic, the same I unwittingly unleashed in my father's cell in Azkaban, the one I used against my muggle Uncle, and the same that I unintentionally unleashed in the Department of Mysteries. But I can control it now. I learned to do so a while ago," said Orion dismissively, while he gazed stoically at Voldemort's wrists, inwardly grimacing; his dark flames had scorched and peeled off the skin and flesh, leaving nothing but bones.

"I'll find a way to counter it, my little serpent," hissed Voldemort, dangerously narrowing his eyes at Orion. "I won't be bested by this."

Orion shot him a smug smirk. "You're bested now, Tom – by me."

Voldemort's eyes flashed with mad fury, and he spat, "I'll find a way-"

"Yes, perhaps you will," interrupted Orion nonchalantly, "and I'll find a way to make my raw magic even more powerful." He shot him a wide, roguish grin. "And yes, if someone could ever find a way to counter it, it would be you, wouldn't it, Tom? But for now, here you are, under my control." He dropped the grin and roughly raked his fingers through Voldemort's silky locks of hair, tightly grasping them as he brought his face inches away from Voldemort's, hissing sharply, "Enough of this foolishness. I didn't come here to duel you, Tom, but to discuss some matters. If I release you, will you calmly talk with me, without attempting to curse me?"

"How dare you?" hissed Voldemort enraged. "You attacked me with your black fire-"

"After you attempted to Crucio me," interjected Orion sharply, narrowing his eyes at him. "And then you succeeded to cast on me a severing dark curse and a Cruciatus Curse as well. I dare say that we both hurt each other – let's call it even."

"Call it even?!" hissed Voldemort, his crimson eyes sparkling with fury. "I won't be-"

But his words were cut short when Orion swiftly cast a silencing spell on him. Orion heavily sighed, and he calmly accommodated himself on Voldemort's waist, arching an eyebrow and smirking at him when he felt a hard bulge under him.

"Well, well, well, Tom... Aroused after our little duel, are you?" he said silkily, his smirk widening while he pressed himself against Voldemort's clothed erection.

Voldemort's crimson eyes glinted in furious outrage, which just made Orion smirk more broadly, before he swiftly plucked Voldemort's wand from his hand, which was still pinned to the floor, as the rest of the wizard's body, by a mantle of vibrating, raw dark magic.

"Yes you are, Tom, how very satisfying," said Orion, devilishly grinning at him, while he played with Voldemort's wand, twirling it between his fingers. "And I must admit, that it also had the same effect on me… You can feel it, surely." He bucked against him, grounding their hips together, smirking and eyeing him smugly. "What a pair we make, eh? My dark magic arouses you, and when I see you all angered and menacing, it arouses me… We are a pair of sick fucks, but it seems that we belong together, wouldn't you say?"

Voldemort, obviously, couldn't say a word since he was still under the influence of the silencing spell, though his lips were pressed into a taut, thin line, eyeing Orion with narrowed, furious crimson eyes.

"Now," continued Orion smugly, "be a good boy and allow your spouse to heal your wrists. Though there isn't much you could do to refuse, is there?"

He widely grinned at him, before he aimed his wand at Voldemort's ravaged, burned wrists, muttering a long string of healing spells.

Slowly, veins, flesh, nerves and skin started to grow back in the wizard's wrists, though not as perfectly as Orion would have liked; the new skin still looking a bit scorched.

"You'll have to take some potions to heal completely," he said calmly, before he gazed down at the large, ugly scar on his bloodied chest. "And so should I."

He glanced back at Voldemort, and asked nonchalantly, "Have you calmed down? Are you ready to discuss matters without allowing your nasty temper to overrule you? Nod to say 'yes'."

Voldemort's crimson eyes glinted with anger, his jaw tightly clenched, but he quickly gave a stiff nod of the head.

Orion arched an eyebrow. "No, you're still mad, Tom. I'm not an idiot. You'll just curse me the first chance you get." He heavily sighed, waving his hand dismissively. "Well, I am a patient man. I'll just make myself more comfortable."

Shooting him a wide smirk, Orion pressed himself flat against Voldemort's body, rubbing their clothed arousals together, while he propped himself on his elbows, each on either side of the wizard's head.

"You know, I'm mightily glad that you can't aim any wandless and nonverbal curses at me since your hands are pinned to the floor by my dark magic," said Orion conversationally. "I'm sure you must be itching to do so, Tom. Alas, I'm making you behave." He flashed him with a broad, impish grin, before he whispered into his ear, "And I love to have you under me like this, Tom. So many ideas come up to my mind… Things I would like to do to you, only if you weren't so angry, of course. I still have to watch my back around you."

He moved his face to be inches away from Voldemort's, carding his fingers through the wizard's silky, black hair, and whispered against his lips, "Now, let me tell you my side of things." He bore his eyes into Voldemort's crimson ones, and continued quietly, "It's true that I was about to shag someone. I must admit that I wasn't entirely myself when it happened. You must have felt my desire but also something weird from me, right?"

Voldemort's eyes pierced into his, and he nodded, so Orion continued, "Well, I guess I should be honest, you wouldn't believe me otherwise. I was practicing a Necromantic spell that Vagnarov had taught us during my last Necromancy lesson. It's quite powerful and I couldn't control it well, so my Necromantic powers took a hold over me, and suddenly, I could see souls. You see, that was the purpose of the spell. I was practicing it in my dorm, since it was empty, and quite frankly, Hogwarts doesn't have the wards to detect such unique magic. Anyway, I had cast the spell on me, but I had stupidly forgotten to lock the door of my dormitory, and a girl came in. Remember Lavender Brown, the chit I courted for a while to make Dumbledore believe I was interested in having a girlfriend? Well, she's been very persistent as of lately, since I keep rejecting her, and she came in to see me while I was under the influence of the spell. So when I saw her, all I could see was a bright, pure white soul, and it enticed me… I must admit that I instantly desired her, and I took her to my bed, undressed her, and-"

Orion clamped his mouth shut, gritting his teeth, when he felt a flare of pain bursting along his scar. He glared at Voldemort, who had his crimson eyes narrowed angrily at him, and snapped, "What's the matter?"

Voldemort's eyes narrowed to slits, the pain in Orion's forehead becoming unbearable, and he finally spat, "Very well, very well, stop that! I'll remove the silencing spell, alright?"

The piercing pain suddenly disappeared, and Orion flicked his wand at Voldemort.

Instantly, the wizard hissed furiously, "You're trying to make me believe that you wanted to bed a girl? No matter under what influence you were, you can't expect me to swallow that blatant lie-"

"Fine, it was a boy-"

"Which isn't relevant, anyway," hissed Voldemort angrily, his eyes dangerously narrowed. "Try honesty for once-"

"Like you?" snarled Orion, gripping the wizard's chin. "You've done nothing but conceal things from me-"

"So have you," spat Voldemort, his crimson eyes flashing. "Regardless, lie all you want to me, because I will find out who it was, and I will kill him. You hear, boy? I won't allow my own spouse to go around bedding others-"

"What if I want to have a lover?" snapped Orion angrily, narrowing his eyes at him. "It's vastly accepted for a dark pureblood to have lovers when he's married-"

"You're a half-blood-"

"So are you, Tom, but both of us behave following dark pureblood standards, don't we? First and foremost, I am a Black and you are a Gaunt."

"That's inconsequential in this matter," snarled Voldemort enraged. "I won't have you cuckolding me – you're mine! My spouse!"

"What if I want to experiment with others?" bit out Orion, glaring at him. "You had countless lovers in the past, you satisfied yourself with them, but I married you too young, I didn't have time to-"

"That's it? You want to experiment?" hissed Voldemort, his crimson eyes flashing, a wide smirk curving his lips. "I can allow that if you want."

Startled, Orion gazed at him, brought short by the wizard's sudden compliance. Instantly, he narrowed his eyes, and demanded, "You would?"

"Of course, my little serpent," hissed Voldemort calmly. "I understand a wizard's need to indulge in some sexual experimentation. Release me, and we'll discuss the matter."

Orion scoffed. "You're mad if you think I believe you-"

"Trust me this once," said Voldemort quietly, boring his crimson eyes into Orion's. "I won't curse you, I won't attack you in retribution – I promise."

Orion frowned, inspecting him carefully, while Voldemort nonchalantly gazed back at him.

"Very well," said Orion crisply, pocketing Voldemort's wand and casting a warding spell on the pocket. "But I'm not giving you your wand back until I deem it appropriate. And quite frankly, I'm too tired to be lying on top of you, on the floor." He narrowed his eyes at the wizard, and added sharply, "If you hurt me, I'll hurt you back, Tom, and I won't restrain myself. What happened to your wrists will be a fond memory for you."

"Very well," hissed Voldemort impassively. "I have no intention of hurting you." He smirked widely. "After all, you were gracious enough to heal me, and as you say, we should discuss matters more comfortably, as well as drink some potions to finish healing our injuries."

"Quite," said Orion flatly, standing up and away from the wizard.

Inwardly, he was glad that he would be calling back his dark magic; it was draining to keep it out for so long and after all what he had done during the day he was exhausted. He just wanted to sit down and relaxedly rest for a while. Oh, he had no delusions that Voldemort was being honest, but he could deal with whatever the wizard decided to dish at him.

He shot the wizard one last mistrustful glance, letting him know he wasn't fooled, before he briefly closed his eyes, extending what he had pegged as his 'magical consciousness' – the feeling that he could sense everything around the room through the raw dark magic that was pulsing and vibrating all around his surroundings. Then, he tugged it, and his raw dark magic instantly obeyed, coming to him like rolling waves of intense magic, plunging into him, over and over again. And he gasped in intense elation and pleasure as he felt refilled and complete, his magical core animatedly vibrating inside him, as if happily embracing a returning friend.

He felt a caress along his cheek, and a whispered hiss, "You've become very powerful, my little serpent… I wonder how you have managed it…"

Orion snapped open his eyes, taking a step back from Voldemort, who was standing inches away from him. And he swiftly whipped out his wand, his posture alert in case the wizard tried anything.

Voldemort glanced at the wand aimed at him, utterly unfazed. Then he widely smirked at him, and calmly strode away, summarily snapping his fingers and calling for a house-elf.

Orion observed him as the wizard instructed a house-elf to bring them some potions, still with his wand drawn and aimed at Voldemort.

In a few seconds, the house-elf popped back into the room, handing several vials to Voldemort, before it swiftly disappeared again with a low bow of his head.

"Here, for your wound," hissed Voldemort, thrusting a vial into Orion's hand, before quickly drinking down a potion himself.

Orion suspiciously inspected the potion, sniffing at it. When he was satisfied that it was indeed a healing potion, he gulped it down, sighing in contentment when he felt a warm pulse along the knitted gash of his chest wound. He vanished the empty vial with a flick of his wand, and gazed down at his chest, touching it; it was completely healed, not even a scar remained behind. Of course, he still had the scar from the Manticore's poisoned dart, but as always when he visited Voldemort, it was invisible under a glamour.

"So you wish to experiment?" came a sharp hiss from behind him, at the same time that he felt strong arms roughly wrap around him. "I will give you that, and you'll be sorry to have asked, my little serpent!"

Startled, before he could gather his wits, Orion felt the tightening pull of being drawn into an apparition, and his surroundings blurred in a mesh of colors.

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AN:

Okay, there's something I have to say about Draco. In my fic, Draco is very similar to canon Draco - someone spoiled, bit spineless, very smart and intelligent as a student, normal in his magical skills, certainly not outwardly brave, and not tough enough to be a killer – but I must point out that we haven't seen much of Draco, neither in this fic or in the Black Heir, therefore, we don't really know much about Draco. There are many facets of Draco's personality that we haven't seen, and there's a lot of room for character development, given all that Draco still has to go through. As for Draco knowing nothing about Orion's secrets, well, that easily fixed if Orion decided to confide in Draco. At present, he can't, since Draco is a Death Eater in frequent contact with Voldemort, but later… who knows… And remember that Draco is a Death Eater, and he therefore hears the rumors in the Death Eater ranks, rumors pertaining, for example, to what Orion did in the Death Chamber, when his dark magic burst out of him when he was pulling out Lezander from the Veil.

Ah, and in the last chapter, Orion and Draco didn't go all the way. Orion was about to have sex with him, before he kissed him one more time, starting to feed on his soul.

About the horcruxes and pieces of soul: Orion cannot, in any way, remove the piece of soul inside him. This has been discussed throughout the Black Heir (BH) fic, as well as in this one. In the BH, Voldemort specifically told him that the piece of soul had completely merged with Orion's, and that to try to rip it from him would mean his death. Furthermore, after all his research, Orion knows that only the original maker of the horcrux can destroy a horcrux, with the exception if the horcrux is destroyed by a powerful light magical artifact –like Gryffindor's sword. Orion managed to transfer the piece of soul of the Gaunt ring thanks to his Necromantic powers, but with his Necromantic powers alone he wouldn't be able to destroy a horcrux since he isn't the one who created the horcruxes. He would need something like Gryffindor's sword; he knows this already. Moreover, due to what Orion said to Voldemort's corpse in the visions, he knows that it's implied that he destroyed the horcruxes and that he killed all of Voldemort, meaning that the piece of soul inside Orion had also been destroyed. In his discussion with Grindelwald about the visions, Orion clearly stated that he doesn't know how it's possible that the piece of soul inside him could be destroyed without killing him in the process, and Grindelwald pointed out that perhaps it could happen through Orion's death, meaning that Voldemort attempted to kill him and that he survived thanks to his Necromantic abilities, and that his 'death' destroyed the piece of soul inside him even when he survived. Neither Grindelwald nor Orion know how this could really happen, but remember what happened in canon… In conclusion, even if he wanted, Orion himself cannot rip from him the piece of soul inside him since it's completely fused with his own soul, and he cannot destroy the piece of soul either. The only way is if Voldemort killed him, and Orion doesn't know what would happen in that instance; he knows that the horcrux in him would probably be destroyed but not if he would survive 'death'. Anyway, this is something he cannot do himself.

On another note, it's true that Dementors hunger for souls because they don't have one themselves, and because the creatures were once Necromancers and for a Necromancer a soul is the most precious thing. But Orion acted like a Dementor because of the ring; Orion has his own soul but the ring magnified his Necromantic abilities, with all its implications, such as the lust and hunger for souls. When wearing the ring, Orion will feel all of these things, even if he has a soul himself. Furthermore, it's true that he could consume souls when wearing the ring, and that such act would make him stronger and more powerful, but Orion would never consider this as a way to become more powerful in order to survive the Vindico Test. There's so much that's he's willing to do to attain his goals, and consuming souls isn't one of them, since, like for every Necromancer, a soul is the most precious thing. And Orion would never, ever, consume his own father's soul just to have more power. That wouldn't even cross his mind. True, if he manages to resurrect Sirius, the wizard will not like what Orion has been doing, but Orion wouldn't consider killing his father just to save himself the trouble of dealing with an angry, problematic Sirius Black. Orion loves his father, he wants him back, and that's it; he's more than willing to deal with the consequences. Furthermore, if Orion did consume a soul, he knows that this would start to transform him into a Dementor, and that's something he definitely doesn't want.

One last thing. A reviewer asked me a while back how magical capacity worked. In my fic, the potency and depths of a wizard's magic depends on his blood, and it is that blood that determines how much power a wizard has. For instance, now Orion has reached a level of power that makes him have an aura around him which he can no longer cloak, just like it happens to Dumbledore, Voldemort and Grindelwald. It doesn't mean that his powers can't develp further. Certainly, each wizard has his own top limit, determined by his blood, but whether a wizard reaches his full capacity depends if the wizard excercises his magic. For instance, if Orion had never learned that he was a Black, and thus had dark blood and could wield dark magic, then he would have never excercised his dark magic, it wouldn't have developed, it would have been dormant inside him, and if this had go on for many years, then Orion wouldn't have access to it, since the dark magic was never excercised and developed, and he certainly wouldn't have reached the levels of power he has now. Moreover, since Orion also has Potter light blood and muggleborn blood from James and Lily, respectively, he can use light magic, since it also runs in his veins. So if Orion hadn't learned and practiced to develop his dark magic, he would have only wielded light magic. Furthermore, in my fic all wizards, no matter their blood, can cast mild spells like those learned in Transfiguration and Charms, but only a dark wizard can learn to cast powerful dark spells like the Unforgivables, and only light wizard can master other light spells which haven't been mentioned. That's what differentiates dark and light wizards; the blood they have, the type of magic they can wield, and the type of spells, powerful ones, which they can master, since they had been created for their respective kind. For example, it was mentioned a while ago that a powerful light wizard could learn how to cast the Avada Kedavra, even when it was created by dark wizards to be used by their own kind, but a light wizard would have a harder time in mastering it, it wouldn't come easily to him, it would feel unnatural to him, and the consequences for the light wizard would be negative, because the spell wasn't created to be used by a light wizard. The consequences are that the soul is split if you cast the Killing Curse, but the dark magic of a dark wizard would restore the wizard's soul if he didn't regret killing -since the killing curse is intended to be used by a dark wizard- but the same doesn't apply to a light wizard; a light wizard's soul wouldn't be restored, and the damage would only be diminished, but not fully healed, if the light wizard repented, which is the exact opposite of the dark wizard's case. All of this means that Light and Dark magic behave differently in their respective wizards. Nevertheless, the point is that every wizard has a top limit for his powers, determined by his blood, but whether he reaches that level depends if the wizard practices his magic, making it grow and develop to reach it's full capacity.

Note: The pics are now uploaded in the yahoo group for the Black Heir, it seems that I didn't upload them correctly the first time. Now, you can find them in the Photo album for characters; they are the last 29 pictures of the album and they can be enlarged by clicking at 'large' on the top of the box where the pic is displayed.