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:
Thanks to all reviewers! Now, this a relatively short chapter, because I thought it best to cut in two some part of the action. But the good stuff will come in the next chappie. I hope you enjoy this one!
Chapter 19
'Avada Kedavra!' was the first thing that wanted to slip from Orion's lips as he barged into the lodge, just as Sirius, Remus and Nymphadora swirled around to gaze at him, startled, since it seemed they had been in the middle of an argument. Nevertheless, he was very aware that if he outright killed Nymphadora, Remus would never forgive him. And he couldn't risk his allegiance with the werewolves. Therefore, he settled for another spell.
Nymphadora had immediately narrowed her eyes at him, and she snapped angrily, "You! You were the one who brought me here, and who's made Remus-"
"Stupefy!" spat Orion, instantly having pointed his wand at her.
Surprised, without having the chance of defending herself, the witch was struck by the spell and loudly crashed to the floor, unconscious.
"Why did you do that?" gasped out Remus, quickly kneeling by the witch's side to gently prop her head on his lap, as he gazed up at Orion uncomprehendingly. "Sirius told us you had brought him so that he could stay for a couple of days. He's more than welcomed, cub, so why did you attack Tonks?"
"M'Alpha, excuse us for barging in, in this manner," said Patrick in his low, rough voice, while he lowered on one knee and stretched his neck to a side, offering it to Remus in submission, "but we have an important issue to discuss with ye." He shot the unresponsive witch a contemptuous glance, and added with as much politeness as he could muster, "Perhaps it would be best if she rested on the couch, while we take a seat and discuss matters, m'Alpha."
Remus' gaze flickered from Orion to the young werewolf and back, a frown spreading on his forehead, but he still didn't move from his place. Finally, Orion impatiently flicked his wand and Nymphadora was hefted in mid air, before she was unceremoniously dropped on the couch, as if moved by an invisible force.
Satisfied, he turned around and calmly sat on one of the chairs along the table, gesturing at the rest to do the same.
"Ah, I understand what all of this is about," said Remus quietly, once everyone had gathered around the table, while he pierced Orion with his eyes. His jaw clenched, and he added in a low voice, "The 'issue' my Beta mentioned is what to do with Tonks, correct? I will not let you kill her, cub-"
"Before we get into a heated argument," piped in Sirius, nonchalantly gesturing at the younger werewolf, "can anyone tell me who's this?"
"This is Patrick Connolly," replied Orion with a smirk, "Remus' Beta. I told you about him, Dad."
"Oh, yeah," muttered Sirius, his dark grey eyes pinning Patrick with a speculative and gauging gaze.
With veiled amusement, Orion observed how the two of them measured each other up. Patrick smirking with a feral glint in his eyes, his manner highly self-confident, while Sirius narrowed his eyes, his expression a tad sulky. And he surmised that his father didn't like to have a competitor for Remus' attention and friendship.
"Ah, before we discuss Nymphadora," said Orion calmly, "there's something I need to tell you." He side-glanced at Patrick, and murmured, "Well, I suppose Connolly can hear about it too." He gazed back at his father and Remus, and said coolly, "Voldemort broke it off with me, a month and a half ago. And he'll sever the marital magical bond between us, at some point… Actually, I don't know why he hasn't done it already… Anyway, he will. So I'm no longer his spouse – just merely his war ally."
Instantly, Sirius surged up to his feet and swiftly leaned down to tightly hug him, as he cried ecstatically, "This is the best news you could have ever given me, pup! I'm so relieved – I'm so HAPPY!"
"You got dumped, cubbie?" said Patrick contently, shooting him a nasty smirk.
Remus pierced Orion with his eyes, his expression somber and worried, as he murmured, "I was right, wasn't I? You went forth with it, and it ended badly. You went forth with the threesome-"
"The – the WHAT?!" choked out Sirius in a high-pitch, snapping his head up as he released Orion from the cheerful embrace.
Orion malevolently gazed at Remus, his dark expression promising retribution. And he was answered by Remus shooting him a sheepish glance, looking sincerely contrite and apologetic, as he mouthed, 'It slipped. Sorry, cub.'
"That – that monster forced you to sleep with another at the same time?!" roared Sirius, looking quite demented, his face thunderous and fierce. "That murdering madman forced you to be shared?! He defiled your-"
"Relax, father," interjected Orion calmly, waving a hand dismissively. "Voldemort didn't force me into anything. I slept with Rabastan because I wanted to-"
"Rabastan? Rabastan LESTRANGE?!" spluttered Sirius, his eyes practically bulging out. He gazed down at Orion, leveling him with a lethal, furious stare. "Are you insane?! How could you sleep with someone like Rabastan Lestrange? Do you have any idea of what that man is capable of?!" He ripped his sleeve up, revealing his Dark Mark, as he continued heatedly, "I saw him in action when I was spying on Voldemort, pup! Rabastan Lestrange savagely tortured muggles and captured wizards with his bloody daggers – that man's a deranged, psychotic sadist, and you-"
"Oh, so that's what he normally uses his daggers for?" said Orion, highly curious and interested. He shot him a placid smile. "Well, he didn't torture me, father. He only used his daggers for a little blood play, though it was very brief. I was rather… impatient." His smile stretched into a pleased smirk. "And I enjoyed him a lot. But I'm not planning on shagging him again, so relax."
Sirius plopped down on his chair, gazing at him as if he didn't know who he was looking at anymore. Then, he shook his head, and bemoaned, "My pup in a threesome… I never expected parenthood to be this tough…"
"You're a good father, Padfoot," interjected Remus soothingly, patting the wizard's back, "but Orion's mature enough to decide who he wants to sleep with."
"My, my, ye're full of surprises, cubbie," said Patrick in a low voice, revealing his teeth in a wide smirk. "An innocent-looking, good lil' boy like ye engaging in a threesome… and savoring it too, by the sound of it."
"You've no idea just how very full of surprises I am, wolfie," countered Orion, smirking back at him.
"Who knows about this?" asked Remus quietly, intently gazing at him. "Who knows that you aren't Voldemort's spouse any longer?"
"My expanded DA, the Elite, and Severus," replied Orion impassively, purposely not mentioning Grindelwald since Patrick was present. "I wrote to Severus two days ago, to inform him-"
"You told Snivellus before telling me?" groused out Sirius disbelievingly, looking deeply hurt.
Orion sighed, and said gently, "I told him because he's a Death Eater who spies on Voldemort for me. Granted, it's been a while since he hasn't been able to fill me with the information he has gathered. He can't whilst we are at Hogwarts, since even though he's still my legal guardian and despite that I supposedly changed my ways thanks to his guidance, we act as if we barely tolerate each other – for Dumbledore's benefit. And when I don't have a valid reason to go to his office, we only communicate by letter if the matter is of importance. And since he's a spy, he needed to know about this."
"What did he reply?" asked Remus, with a grave and pensive expression on his face.
"Nothing much," said Orion dismissively, while he remembered with amusement what the wizard had written back.
Severus' terse letter had simply said: 'You're a dim-witted, half-brained, pubescent imbecile. We'll discuss the matter soon.' And Orion had merely arched an eyebrow, wondering who had pissed in the man's cauldron.
"So what does this mean?" said Sirius eagerly, gazing at him expectantly. "Now that you'll no longer be Voldemort's spouse, will you kill him? You never told us how many there are, or what they are, but I suppose that you're going to look for them, right? To destroy his hor-"
"Hush!" snapped Orion, briefly side-glancing at Patrick, before he narrowed his eyes at his father. "No, I'm not. If anything, I'll protect them from Dumbledore. As I said, I'm still Voldemort's ally. So, obviously, I won't kill him. I'm simply not his spouse anymore."
"Well, that's good enough for me," said Sirius cheerfully, brightening up.
"I'm glad," said Orion dryly, before he deeply frowned. "Tell me something, Dad, you've never felt your Dark Mark burning, not even once?"
"No," replied Sirius, his expression becoming puzzled. "It's the first time I think about it. And it's strange, isn't it? I would have expected Voldemort-"
"To use you to have something to hold over me," said Orion, nodding at him. "Yes, precisely." A frown marred his forehead once again, and he muttered, "I wonder what he's up to…" Then he shook his head, and glanced at Remus. "Anyway, let's discuss the important issue at present. Nymphadora-"
"You said," interrupted Remus sternly, "that you were going to give her some months to think about her allegiances-"
"I said I was going to give her one or two months, at most," interjected Orion coolly. "It's been about two months already." He leveled him with a hard gaze. "And before my father came into your lodge, we heard what she was saying. She hasn't changed her loyalties, Remus. You know what that means."
"I told you I'm against it," said Remus sharply, piercing him with his amber eyes. "I won't let you kill her, cub."
"She has to die," retorted Orion crisply. "She's a liability and I can no longer afford that. What's more, she wouldn't be able to stay in Lycaon, under your watch, forever. Soon, you'll be very busy when battles and aggressions commence – when the war really erupts."
"I could take her with me," interjected Remus. "I'm perfectly able to hold her by my side so that she doesn't go to Dumbledore."
"And she would only be a distraction," pointed out Orion curtly. "You're England's Alpha, part of the Dark Allies, as well as my supporter. You'll be too busy and you cannot waste time by baby-sitting her. Furthermore, we're only inviting disaster by letting her live. The first chance she gets, she'll go to Dumbledore, the Ministry or the Order, to spill about everything she knows about us and the Dark's plans for the war."
Remus shot him a hard glance. "You casted a compulsion mind web on her. She won't say anything-"
"She won't about me, but she can reveal the Dark's plans," interrupted Orion in a steely tone of voice. "And even if I obliaviated her or casted another mind web compulsion on her, she'll still look for an opportunity to go back being an Auror and to work for the Order. She'll be one more enemy to defeat at the battlefield. It's best to get rid of her now."
"Aye, m'Alpha," growled Patrick, his amber eyes flashing with a feral gleam. "She's nothing but trouble for ye."
"I agree with my son," interjected Sirius with a heavy sigh, as he gazed at his best friend with a beseeching expression on his face. "It's best for all of us if she dies, to make sure she won't go to Dumbledore to spill the beans."
"I had expected that you, of all people, would back me up on this, Padfoot," said Remus quietly, his voice carrying a hint of hurt disappointment. "She's my… friend. And she's also your niece."
"I know, Moony," murmured Sirius, his expression hardening to become resolved. "But she's a risk. I'm with Orion on this."
Remus' eyes flashed golden, and he pounded a fist on the table, as he said in a low, firm voice, "I will not let anyone kill her." His gaze snapped to Orion and he said sharply, "I will turn her into a werewolf, if I must, to reassure you that I'll control her and that she won't go to Dumbledore, the Ministry or the Order."
From the periphery of his vision, Orion caught sight of Patrick baring his teeth in a silent yet furious snarl, the young werewolf's shoulders tensing. Nymphadora becoming a werewolf was certainly the last thing that Patrick wanted.
He sighed and carded his fingers through his hair, before he pierced Remus with his eyes and said quietly, "I won't change my mind. She has to die. She's a wild card, a liability – a risk and loose end in my plans. Turning her into a werewolf won't change that." He intently gazed at him, and added pointedly, "And you're only deluding yourself by keeping her by your side. She's not the one for you, Remus. You know that you have to acknowledge Greyback eventually."
In a whiplash, Remus' eyes snapped to Patrick with a furious and menacing gleam in them, and Orion immediately added in a steely tone of voice, "Don't look at him. He only told me what you should have. I disclosed to you all my secrets, Remus. Everything. Yet, you couldn't tell me one crucial little thing about yourself. That's a breach of trust, in my opinion."
"It was personal," said Remus stiffly, his jaw clenching.
"And everything I told you wasn't?!" spat Orion heatedly, narrowing his eyes at him.
"Hey," interjected Sirius befuddled, his gaze flickering from one to the other, "what are you talking about? What's this about Greyback?"
Instantly, Remus shot Orion a warning glance, his expression stern. And Orion simply nodded. He got the message; the werewolf didn't want Sirius to know that he was Greyback's mate or that he had been raped when he was ten years old. And Orion heartily agreed with the latter. Merlin knew what Sirius' thoughtless impulsiveness would drive him to do if he discovered that his only best friend left had been raped as a child.
"Isn't anyone going to answer me?" asked Sirius, miffed.
"It's something between Remus and me," said Orion dismissively, before he pinned Remus with a hard gaze. "Now, let me get to the point. I will not argue this matter any longer. Tomorrow's Saturday and I have to get to Durmstrang. Therefore, I will kill Nymphadora now, and be done with it. The best I can offer is to give her a fair chance in a duel."
"That's not a fair chance," said Remus sternly. "You're much more powerful than she is-"
"There's nothing I can do about that," interrupted Orion coolly. "It's either a duel or I kill her right away. And if you interfere, I'll simply render you unconscious. You don't have to watch the duel if you don't want to."
"Moony, it's the only solution," said Sirius quietly, gazing beseechingly at his best friend. "Orion can give her a swift death. If Nymphadora went back to Dumbledore, the old man would simply make her spy in Death Eater ranks again. And Voldemort knows about her already. He would eventually torture her." He grimaced. "A swift death is preferable to that, Moony. And as Orion said, you cannot spend all your time watching her so that she won't betray us."
"How can I possibly agree to this, Padfoot?" murmured Remus somberly. "How can I allow an innocent witch to be killed-"
"She's not innocent!" snapped Orion impatiently. "She's an Auror, Order member, spy, and bloodtraitor. In short, an enemy. Someone who knows too much about me and our plans. Even if I obliviated her, she would still be a problem because she would be one more Auror to fight in the battlefield."
Remus shook his head, and said quietly, "I cannot condone this-"
"Enough," said Orion sharply, as he pressed his palms on the table and stood up. "We've wasted enough time on this matter. I'll duel her, and that's it. There's nothing you can reproach yourself for, nor me. We gave her a chance to change her mind. We gave her two months, and still, she refused to change her allegiances."
He swiftly aimed his wand at the witch spread on the couch, and flicked it, making her hover in mid-air. Then he glanced at Remus over his shoulder, and said shortly, "Bring her wand with you. I'll duel her at the forest clearing – the one that's at the outskirts of Lycaon."
As soon as they left the lodge, with the stupefied witch hovering after Orion, the citizens of Lycaon had caught sight of them and instantly followed – just as he had planned and hoped. While they made their procession through the village, towards the forest clearing which was several feet away from Lycaon's main gate, Remus and Sirius had lagged behind, engaged in a murmured conversation. Indubitably, his father was further persuading Remus that the duel was the best solution. Meanwhile, Orion reached the forest's clearing with Patrick striding along his side. The werewolf seemed enthusiastic about the whole matter, with a satisfied and feral smirk curling his lips.
At last, he flicked his wand and the unconscious witch settled on the ground, amidst the vast expanse of grass. And Orion finally gazed at his audience, inwardly pleased. The duel would be swift, but he planned on making it a bit spectacular. It was time that he showed Lycaon's werewolves just what he could do.
Remus still seemed very reluctant, his expression grave and somber, while Sirius had thrown a supportive arm over the werewolf's shoulders. But the crowd of spectators looked eager. It appeared that the whole of Lycaon had gathered there, even the children. And all of them seemed to know what was going to happen, since their expectant gazes flickered from Nymphadora to him. It was certain that the witch wasn't loved or accepted by them. And it was thanks to the crowd and their reaction, that Orion knew that Remus wasn't stopping him right now. As an Alpha, Remus couldn't allow to be perceived as 'weak' by his packs. That was exactly why Orion had suggested that the duel took place at the clearing, since he knew that they would be followed once they made their way through the village.
And before Remus could do anything to prevent it, Orion quickly flicked his wand and raised a circular ward around him and the unconscious witch, leaving enough space for a duel. The ward wouldn't allow anyone through, and they wouldn't hear or see anything from outside of it. Though the audience would be able to hear and see what happened inside.
Satisfied, now for all purposes alone with Nymphadora, he aimed his wand at her, and said loudly, "Ennervate!"
The witch gasped in a breath of air and her eyes instantly flew open, before she looked around, alarmed and confused.
Delving a hand into his pocket, Orion plucked out the wand Remus had previously handed to him, and he tossed it to the witch. "Take it, Nymphadora. It's your wand, you'll need it. We're going to have a little duel between us."
"Don't call me Nymphadora!" snapped the witch, instantly grabbing her wand and jumping to her feet, aiming at him while she glanced around with a deep frown on her face. "What's going on? Where's Remus? And what's that blue thing?"
"That's a containment ward, obviously," said Orion impassively. "Remus is outside of it. Don't even bother to call for him, he can't pass through. And as I said, we're going to have a duel - till death."
"So you want to kill me, kid?" said Nymphadora, narrowing her eyes at him. She shook her head and said adamantly, "Look… Orion, I'm not going to fight a child. I'm an Auror and I have my principles-"
"You're concerned about me?" scoffed Orion, with a roll of his eyes. "In this duel, you should be worried about yourself." He pierced her with her eyes, and added sharply, "I'm not a child, Tonks. And you can stuff your Auror 'principles' - as if there was such thing. You're going to duel me, and do it until one of us dies. And I assure you that it will be you. Surely you're not that stupid. Surely you've heard that I'm powerful. So spare me your 'principles' and fight."
Nymphadora eyed him with a hard expression on her face, and said stiffly, "You've got things wrong. You've been brainwashed and manipulated by You-Know-Who. But I can help you. Let's go to Dumbledore, and-"
"Spare me that as well," snapped Orion impatiently. "I don't have time to chit-chat. So attack me once and for all. I'm giving you that advantage."
"I will not duel a teenager," interjected Nymphadora firmly, shaking her head and making her wild, purple hair swish in the air.
"Merlin's staff, you are stupid," said Orion with exasperation. He regarded her coldly, and finally said with an indifferent shrug of his shoulders, "Fine. You had your chance."
Then, he swiftly aimed his wand at her, and spat, "Riptus viscus!"
A violet beam of light shot from his wand, the entrails-ripping dark curse hurtling towards her, and in a flash, she had swirled to a side and conjured a metal plank which absorbed the curse.
Orion smiled at her, pleased. At least, the normally clumsy witch was deft in a duel. It was obvious, too, that she knew her Defense against the Dark Arts.
"Incarcerous!" yelled Nymphadora quickly, regaining her attack-stance.
Immediately, Orion wandlessly pulled up a shield-bubble around him, while he snorted as the spell ricocheted off. "You'll have to try harder than that. Oculus extracto!"
She shrieked in horror, barely saving herself by leaping to a side, as the eye-gouging dark curse careened towards her, almost striking her. She hit the ground with a painful groan, and rolled on it, before she hastily jumped to her feet, and roared, "Petrificus totalus! Lingua refurlo!"
"Obscurita protectum," said Orion calmly with a lazy flick of his wand, and the temporary shield shimmered before him, making the incoming spell and the other curse fade as soon as they struck it, while he arched an eyebrow.
The last curse she had shot at him was borderline dark, surely taught to her by her once Auror-mentor, Alastor Moody. Well, she had some talent, but not enough. They continued trading curses and spells, but it was evident that she was out of her league. He never had the necessity to move from his place, while she had to swirl and jump to sides in order to save herself from curses.
And up until that moment, Orion hadn't truly realized how much he had learned with Grindelwald. Given that the German wizard was always his dueling-partner, he had become used to battling someone as powerful and skillful as him. Therefore, now, merely fighting an Auror was too easy for him. As they volleyed curses back and forth - his always dark and hers light or borderline dark- Orion soon became bored. He countered anything she shot at him without needing to think twice, just with a mere flick of his wand. A powerful shield was enough, or merely conjuring something to block the incoming spell sufficed.
After about ten minutes, she had several deep cuts along her legs and torso, and one of her arms was limply swinging. And Orion deemed that he had to put an end to it. It wasn't his purpose to torture her, after all. Though, he wanted to kill her with some display of his true abilities. Ultimately, her death would be useful in that way, and therefore not in vain.
When Nymphadora unsteadily stood up after his latest attack, haggardly panting for air, Orion swiftly pocketed his wand, and calmly spread a hand forward.
"What are you doing?" she yelled annoyed. "Use your wand, kid! I won't stop now. You wanted to duel-"
"Good. Don't stop," said Orion impassively, before he shot her a wide smile, "because I'm not. But I don't need my wand for this part."
"What?!" snapped Nymphadora hotly. "Of course you need a wand-"
"You talk too much," said Orion with irritation. "A duel is not a tête à tête, witch!"
She glowered at him. "What are you-"
But Orion didn't give her a chance to pester him any longer, and with his dark magic already animatedly bubbling and rushing inside him, he allowed it to channel forth and erupt from his spread palm. A constant spurt of black water shot outwards, unfurling in undulating waves and swiftly enveloping all of her. Her startled scream was muffled as soon as she was trapped in the swirling sphere of black water, made by his unique dark magic in that elemental-form. And directing it with his hand, Orion made it rise high above the ground.
The huge orb of rippling, black water reached the tree-tops, and Orion could barely discern her inside. He caught sight of some blurry limbs moving, and a hand briefly poked out, moving frenziedly, before it was swallowed back in. And she was surely choking and starting to drown inside.
At last, Orion spread his fingers wider apart, in a swift move, making the sphere of undulating water split apart in half. Instantly, Nymphadora dropped out of it, free-falling from the great height, and her body crashed loudly against the ground. She barely moved, only jerkily, with one leg snapped at a bizarre angle, and copious blood spurting from her lips and head.
Finally, he made the half-split sphere of water turn into sharp fragments of black ice, and he flipped his hand downwards. The blades of ice instantly rushed down, shooting like bullets in a rain of spikes, and her body was instantly pierced by them, repeatedly.
An agonizing scream gurgled from her mouth, splashing blood on her face, and Orion calmly approached her. Though, when he reached her and coolly gazed down at her, she was already dead. Her purple hair had turned to her original black waves, and her once blue eyes were now her natural dark gray, with her pupils dilated.
He aimed his wand at her, one last time, and said firmly, "Incendia mortem!"
A great, blazing, burning pyre engulfed the witch's corpse, and in a few seconds her body, flesh and bones, had turned into scorched dust. Just like he had done once to Dietrich Emmerich when the wizard had died in Nurmengard, in self-sacrifice.
Highly satisfied, and feeling himself brimming with his dark magic, Orion turned around towards the wards he had raised. His face revealed nothing, but inwardly he felt joyously ecstatic. His dark magic was buzzing inside him, encompassing him with an overpowering sense, and he had missed feeling like that. He had missed it so much. Therefore, he didn't do anything to settle it down inside him, and he allowed himself to savor it for a while longer.
He flicked his wand, instantly bringing down the wards, before he placed it in his right wand-holster. As soon as the ward disappeared, he could finally see the others, and he calmly gauged their reactions.
The werewolves, women and men, were animatedly whispering among themselves, their expressions stunned yet also awed and dazzled, as they glanced at him. Merlin, even the children didn't seem spooked, but rather excited by what they had seen. And that reinforced his idea that werewolves were indeed accustomed to a harsh and rough life, and that they were brought up to be warriors. Though he surmised that they he owed the latter to Greyback, since the man was the Sire of most of them and he had surely trained his pack members to be ruthless fighters, accustomed to gruesome blood-shed.
Then he caught sight of three men who stood slightly apart from the rest. Patrick was eyeing him strangely, though his lips were curled into a smirk. Sirius was staring at him with wide eyes, his face pale and aghast. While Remus was piercing him with darkened amber eyes, the werewolf's expression grave, but other than that, he couldn't quite discern what the man was thinking or feeling.
Swiftly, he reached them with a couple of long strides. And the instant he stood before them, he felt something abruptly striking his face. He was forcefully backhanded, sharp fingernails scratching along with the hard slap, and his head snapped to side, as he felt small drops of blood trickling down.
Shocked, Orion automatically pressed a palm against his burning cheek, and he gazed up at Remus with wide eyes.
"You said it was going to be swift," growled Remus in a low voice, his expression thunderous and furious, while his amber eyes were darkly flashing, though there was also the bright gleam of tears in them. "You said it would be painless."
"I certainly never said it would be painless for her," interjected Orion quietly. "And Sirius said it would be swift, not I." Then, he angrily narrowed his eyes at him, and instantly caught the man's chin, forcing him to look at the crowd, as he hissed irately, "Never hit me again. Never undermine my position in public again, Remus. And look at your people. Do you see their satisfaction? Do you see the staggered respect in their eyes?"
"Respect for you," spat Remus bitingly, wrenching his chin free from Orion's grasp, as he narrowed his eyes at him. "And what I understand is that you used Tonks to display your power. To add to your mystique." He lowered his voice to a sharp, inaudible whisper, "To show yourself as the VA."
"I did," said Orion unrepentantly. "They didn't know about my true abilities, and I showed them a bit. All in all, you can say that she didn't die in vain."
Remus shook his head, his features turning grieved and somber, and Orion added quietly and pointedly, "And you can't cry, Remus, or they'll look down on you."
"I need to be alone," said Remus tightly, swiftly turning around without casting him a second glance.
Orion observed him in silence as the man made his way into Lycaon, the rest of the werewolves soon following their Alpha. Many shot him lingering glances, several bowed to him, and some even smiled. And with that, inwardly smirking and highly pleased, Orion just knew that other wheels had been spurred into motion… more reverent gossips, more awe-struck rumors, more fodder for legends…
"Did you have to be so… ruthless with her?" muttered Sirius, his expression still appalled, and his tone reproving. "Did you have to kill her so gruesomely – so cruelly?"
"It wasn't cruel," said Orion crisply, narrowing his eyes at him. "Cruel would have been for me to use my Necromantic abilities to tear her soul from her body and then destroy it. That would have been cruel. She's dead, yes, but her soul passed to the next plane. I didn't eliminate her."
Sirius heavily sighed, jerkily carding his fingers through his hair. "Remus wanted to send her body to her parents, for a proper burial. But you messed her up too badly and then burned her body, son-"
"Of course I burned it," interrupted Orion shortly. "Precisely because I knew that Remus would want to do that. And I rather have Andromeda and her muggleborn husband waste time and resources trying to find their daughter, instead of them knowing that she's dead and seeking out revenge. Like this, they will keep looking for Nymphadora and they'll probably ask the Order to help them. Thus, making them waste their time. You can call it, if you want, a dilatory and diversionary tactic. And I burned Nymphadora's body to ashes in dark pureblood fashion. It was done properly. If Remus wants to gather her ashes and bury them here, then he can do so."
"He'll need time to recover from this, pup," said Sirius quietly, with a pained expression on his face. "But he'll forgive you, in the end. It's just that… we'll it was a shock to us, to see you like that, doing those things… You had told us about your… er, powers… but we never saw you using them… So it was hard-"
"He has nothing to forgive me for," interjected Orion coolly. "He knew I was going to duel her and he knew I'm powerful-"
"And he tried to cross the wards to stop it," interrupted Sirius sternly, "when he saw how far you were taking it."
Orion gaze at him intently, and said quietly, "That's his mistake and problem, father. I won't apologize to him for having killed Nymphadora, nor for the way in which I did." He pierced him with his eyes, and added sharply, "What's more, you'll all have to get used to see me 'this way', because I'll be like this and much more ruthless in battle."
"Fine, pup, fine," said Sirius with a deep sigh. He absentmindedly patted his shoulder. "I'll leave to be with him now."
"Wait," whispered Orion, staring up at him, "there's one thing I have to tell you. You can stay here during the weekend, and enjoy yourself, but I want you to go to Dumbledore on Monday. I want you to earn his trust, become an Order member, and start spying for me. And it must be done as soon as possible – on Monday, since school lets out in a week. And Draco will finish his 'task' someday during the week, I hope! Also, you'll have to buy a wand which chooses you. You cannot keep using the standard wand that Daisy bought for you. Ollivander is still being held by Voldemort and Gregorovitch was killed by him, as I told you. But there was another wandshop in wizarding Moscow, so you can go there, before meeting Dumbledore. Alright?"
Sirius nodded, and then gazed at him worriedly. "Sure, I'll go see Dumbledore on Monday. But I can hardly show myself in wizarding communities, pup. I could glamour my face, I guess-"
"You don't need to," interjected Orion, smugly smirking at him. "Let me tell you that I planned your resurrection for a very long while, in excruciating detail. I had also checked some laws, to see how freely you could move after being resurrected. And I'm happy to inform you that you could waltz inside the English Ministry of Magic and dance around Scrimgeour himself, and he couldn't do a thing to you. The last time, you were captured for being a Death Eater and Azkaban escapee, and you were sentenced –without a trial, again- to a Dementor's Kiss. And you received it, died, and thus fulfilled your sentence. A wizard cannot be twice convicted for the same crime when he has already fulfilled the sentence for it, father. Therefore, you're a free man, in every way."
Sirius blinked at him, before a wide grin spread over his face. "Excellent, pup!" He ruffled Orion's hair, and repeated cheerfully, "Excellent!"
With that, he turned around and made his way towards Lycaon, with a happy skip in his pace. And Orion was left alone with Patrick, who had been uncharacteristically quiet all that time.
"Are you going to berate me as well, Connolly?" said Orion dryly, glancing at him while he lifted a hand to card his fingers through his ruffled hair.
Mid-way towards his hair, his wrist was suddenly clutched in a tight grip, and he was pulled flat against Patrick's chest, as the werewolf growled demandingly, "What are ye, Black?"
Orion gazed up into the man's narrowed, amber eyes, and he said nonchalantly, "I don't know what you mean." He unsuccessfully tried to wrench his wrist free, and scowled. "Unhand me, wolfie."
"I won't," snapped Patrick in his low, rough voice, bearing his teeth menacingly. "And don't play the fool with me." His amber eyes narrowed to slits. "I've never seen dark magic like the one ye used. So I ask again, what are ye?"
"What do you think I am?" countered Orion, flashing him with a mocking smile.
"Don't play games!" snarled Patrick irately, tightening his grasp around Orion's wrist.
Whether purposely or not, the grip became painful, and the werewolf was sinking his fingernails into the tender side of his wrist. Orion winced and bit down on his tongue, as he felt a wave of soaring anger rising in him, along with the bristling rush of his dark magic, which he hadn't tranquilly settled inside him.
Without really thinking about it, Orion pulled back his free hand, balling it into a fist, and squarely shot it against Patrick's cheek. He was instantly released as the werewolf staggered backwards, clutching his throbbing cheekbone. But abruptly, before Orion knew what hit him, Patrick had launched himself at him, making them both fly in the air and crash on the ground.
Orion let out a grunt of pain, as his body absorbed the impact, while Patrick swiftly straddled him and trapped him in place. The werewolf lowered his face to be inches away from his, and he growled furiously, "Hit me again and I will tear ye to pieces, lil' boy!"
"Geroff!" spat Orion angrily, buckling under him while he tried to free his pinned wrists.
"Tell me what ye are," growled Patrick brusquely, narrowing his darkened amber eyes at him, "and I will."
Orion eyed him quizzically, with several ideas swirling in his mind. He had already decided what role the young werewolf would play in his plans. Indeed, he knew exactly what Patrick would be for him. And perhaps it was a wise move to prepare the terrain-
Suddenly, his eyes flew open when he felt something hard pressing against his groin, and he gasped out, surprised, "Merlin's beard, my display of dark magic aroused you!" He shook his head, and broke into loud sniggers. "Well, well, Connolly… I suppose it makes sense. You're a dark creature plus a dark wizard, after all. So you'd be affected and incited by my use of dark magic…" He shot him a nasty smirk. "Well, I can't help you with that. Go fetch Moonbeam, wolfie."
"Stuff it, Black," spat Patrick furiously, painfully tightening his grip on Orion's wrists. "Stuff it right up into yer tight, little ars-"
"Watch how you speak to me, Connolly!"
"I'll always speak to ye like this," said Patrick, flashing him with a feral smirk, "no matter how influential or powerful ye become, cubbie. It's the way I am. I won't change. Ye'll just have to accept me as I am."
Orion closely observed him, and finally shot him a dazzling smile. "I think I can do that, wolfie. Because you see, I already accept you – and want you."
Patrick's eyes widened, and he instantly used the opportunity to sharply dig his knee into the werewolf's ribcage. The man briefly doubled over, and Orion quickly escaped from underneath and got hold of his wand, swiftly flicking it. In the bat of an eyelash, their positions had been reversed, and now Patrick was pinned against the floor by the nonverbal spell Orion had casted, and Orion was straddling him with a wide, satisfied smirk plastered on his face.
"Tut, tut, wolfie," said Orion tauntingly, "you're so easily unsettled." He pressed his cheek against Patrick's, to murmur silkily into his ear, "I do want you, but not how you imagine. I don't want you for a shag, Connolly. I want you to be mine, my follower. I want to hear you call me 'My Lord Black'. You have no idea how immensely I would enjoy that."
"Let me go, Black!" spat Patrick furiously, his amber eyes flashing, as he bared his teeth threateningly. He eyed him intently, before he purposely buckled against him. Suddenly, a wide, snide smirk curled his lips, and he sneered, "Well, it looks as if I'm not the only one aroused, cubbie."
Orion's eyes widened when he realized that the man was right. What was more, he had been unwittingly pressing his hip against his. Merlin's staff, what was he doing? He was acting shamelessly and wantonly flirtatiously... If Voldemort saw him, the wizard would irately and sneeringly call him a whore… Orion introspectively frowned. But Voldemort would be ghastly mistaken. What he felt right now wasn't lewd lust, but a sense of dominating control over another. And really, he didn't care if he acted flirtatiously. He was enjoying himself too much, and he wanted to keep doing it for as long as he could. Furthermore, he realized that he was doing the same as what he had once done to Komorov, when he had caressed the man's VA symbol. Yes, it was exactly the same type of behavior, and it was gloriously satisfying and overpowering.
With a wide smirk on his face, Orion leaned down again, and he licked the werewolf's earlobe, as he said in a silky purr, "Yes, you're worthy to be mine, part of my little, exclusive group of close followers. I even know where I would like to mark you. And you're a very ambitious wolfie, aren't you? You first became Greyback's Beta at seventeen, and now you are Remus'. But you shouldn't limit yourself to only be a Beta. You could have other… affiliations. Remus has his own duties and he won't live forever, and I'll need someone to act as my liaison with the werewolf community. I need a werewolf, powerful like you, in my highest ranks."
"What are ye mumbling about?" said Patrick harshly, narrowing his eyes at him. "What highest ranks? Ye don't have any ranks, Black!"
"I do," interjected Orion, widely smirking at him. "I've mentioned them in your presence. My DA and the Elite-"
"Mere students!" snorted Patrick scathingly. "I have no wish to become part of a group of lil' children."
"I'm not offering that," said Orion nonchalantly. "No, I have another place in mind for you." He smugly smiled at him, and whispered, "You see, there's a group of 'adults' - skilled, powerful and in influential positions- who'll be in my control once I become… let's say, more powerful. And one of these 'adults' is part of the Dark Allies. Remus has occasionally taken you to some of their meetings, hasn't he? Well, they're obviously important and powerful. And so is this group of soon-to-be my followers. And I want you to become one of them. Not yet, mind you, but soon – next year, I surmise. What do you say?"
"I say that ye're full of it," snapped Patrick brusquely.
Orion hummed, and said loftily, "How disappointing." Then he deviously smirked at him. "But perhaps you need to be further convinced about just how powerful I am. Yes, I think that would do the trick."
He leaned back, still straddling the werewolf's hips, and raised a hand, spreading his fingers as if he was holding a large, invisible ball with his fingertips. And he briefly closed his eyes and swiftly concentrated his magic. He felt it thrumming through his arm, up along his forearm, and finally bristling and snapping on his fingertips. With a sigh of pleasure, he opened his eyes and glanced at his fingertips, seeing tiny veins of thunderbolt-like energy crackling from them.
Orion smugly smirked down at the werewolf, showing it to him. "Do you know what this is, wolfie? A wandless Cruciatus Curse, its intensity utterly under my control. And very powerful, since it's visible to the naked eye. Funnily enough, I learned how to do this by observing Voldemort. By mere observation, as he used it on me. Just like I'm going to use it now, on you."
"Fuck ye, Black!" snarled Patrick irately, wildly buckling under him, yet unsuccessful in his attempts to break free from the spell which had him pinned to the ground. "Ye're not going to use a Cruciatus Curse on me-"
"Oh, but I am," interjected Orion coolly. "I have to convince you about how powerful I am. So that you'll understand that being my follower will benefit you. You see, power isn't just a matter of potently using one's magic, like I did to kill Nymphadora. It's also a matter of utterly controlling one's magic. And that's what I'm doing at present." He widely smirked at him, while he taunting trailed his other hand along the werewolf's bare chest. "Now, hush, hush, wolfie, because I promise you that you'll like it."
And without giving him time to complain, he brought down his hand and trailed his ignited, crackling fingertips along the man's chest. Instantly, Patrick tightly scrunched his eyes shut, the muscles under Orion's touch rippling jerkily under his fingertips. But soon, a groan escaped from the werewolf's lips, and Orion knew that Patrick wasn't in pain, but enjoying it. He swept his fingertips one more time along the man's chest, and finally lifted his hand and snapped it close, cancelling the Cruciatus Curse.
Patrick gazed up at him with half-lidded amber eyes, and said roughly in a haggard voice, "Fine, Black, ye made yer point."
"Will you accept to become one of my followers?" said Orion calmly.
"Ask me again when ye're ready to me make me one," replied Patrick gruffly, narrowing his eyes at him. "Now get the fuck off me and cancel the bloody spell you have on me!"
"Well, that's good enough," said Orion nonchalantly, as he swiftly stood up. He gazed down at him with amusement, and said tauntingly, "You know, Connolly, you look very good like this – spread on the ground, defenseless, under my absolute control, and with your pretty golden eyes furiously narrowed at me. Yes, you make quite an enticing picture-"
Patrick revealed his teeth menacingly, and snarled, "Ye better release me - now, Black!"
"Oh, don't raise your hackles at me, wolfie," said Orion placidly, shooting him a wide smirk. "I wasn't planning on leaving you in the middle of the forest for the whole night."
He aimed his wand at him, and lazily flicked it, before he offered a hand to pull the werewolf up. Regardless, Patrick instantly surged up to his feet, and in a flash, he had violently crashed Orion against a tree-trunk.
"I'll have to teach ye, Black," growled Patrick angrily, his amber eyes flashing down at him, "that ye mustn't play with wolves. Ye're more powerful than me magically, but in physical strength I'll always overpower ye." He inched his face to his, and sneered, "Ye have vampire blood in ye, but ye're not a vampire's full-mate. The vampire boy didn't fuck ye when he gave ye his blood, cubbie. Thus, he only gave ye a slight measure of his natural physical superiority-"
"How do you know about that?" demanded Orion sharply, narrowing his eyes at him. "I never said to the Dark Allies that my bond with Lezander was partial since we didn't shag when he gave me his blood."
"We, werewolves, know quite a bit about vampires," said Patrick brusquely, baring his teeth in a feral smirk. "Centuries ago, our kinds fought for territorial dominance. Obviously, given the life we've had and given that they managed to be better concealed and organized than we are, we lost back then. Ever since, we've disliked each other on principle. And I know a lot about vampires thanks to Fenrir. He's been like a father to me, and his own great-great-grand father was the Alpha back when vampires and werewolves fought each other. So Fenrir passed down that knowledge to me."
"I see," murmured Orion pensively.
Patrick roughly clutched his face, and said jeeringly, "Tell me somethin', cubbie, did ye suffer much when ye thought yer vampire boy had died? Is it true that vampires' lifemates greatly suffer under drastic separation-?"
"What the bloody hell are you talking about?" snapped Orion crisply, scowling at him. "I'm not Lezander's mate; he only gave me his blood. Furthermore, vampires don't have 'lifemates'. They can choose to be with whomever they want. It's a willing choice, not something instinctual like in a werewolf's case-"
"Is that what the vampire told ye?" scoffed Patrick snidely, before he shot him a nasty smirk. "My, my, cubbie, I think someone has been lied to. And ye must be incredibly stupid to have bought it. Didn't you tell me yourself that a creature cannot fight against his nature? We, werewolves, have our inner wolf, and he chooses our mate. And what do ye think is what chooses a vampire's lifemate? Easy, cubbie, the same thing which defines their nature – blood. The vampire boy chose to share his blood with ye, and he certainly expected to fuck ye, thus fully bond with ye, because yer blood called to him. To him, it must be exquisitely enticing, like none other's - yer scent unique, yer taste delicious." His smirk spread widely, viciously. "And guess what, cubbie? They only have one lifemate. Oh, certainly, they can fuck and be with others, and they won't die if their lifemate does, even though they'll certainly suffer. But unlike werewolves, if they lose their one and only mate, they won't have another. They are inferior to us, in that way – and in many others, of course."
Orion gazed at him with stunned, wide eyes, completely frozen in place. Finally, he shook his head, as he muttered, "That – that cannot be right. It simply – can't… or the Zravens would have-"
"Aw, is poor lil' cubbie confused?" jeered Patrick, revealing his teeth in a wide, feral smirk. "Well, Black, I have no reason to lie to ye. What I told ye is the truth." He snorted, and added scathingly, "And yer lil' vampire boy probably didn't tell ye because he didn't want to pressure ye or scare ye off. What a fool – mates have to be claimed as soon as found, by force if needed. Well, vampires be vampires." He cocked his head to a side, and sneered roughly, "Ye're awfully quiet, cubbie. Aye, no witty retorts this time?"
"Fuck off," spat Orion briskly, aggressively shoving him away.
The werewolf, caught unawares, stumbled one step back, while Orion immediately put more distance between them and plucked out the chain-necklace from underneath his shirt.
"What are ye doing?" demanded Patrick gruffly, narrowing his eyes at him.
"What does it bloody look like?" snapped Orion crisply. "I'm portkeying away - to my home."
"M'Alpha-"
"Remus can take care of himself, and he's accompanied," said Orion shortly. "My father is staying to lend support, and you'll also be here to help him get over his 'mourning period'."
Patrick narrowed his eyes at him, and said harshly, "What about Fenrir?"
"I'll bring him whenever the fuck I can," spat Orion, before he tightly grasped the pendant, and snapped, "Padfoot!"
And he was instantly pulled into a tightening mesh of colors and space, the last thing he saw being Patrick's features losing their hard expression, the amber eyes holding a veiled hint of desire and some small measure of fondness.
The next few days passed quickly but also tensely for Orion. During his weekend at Durmstrang, when he wasn't with his Elite training the DA, he was with Calypso studying for their finals -which would take place the next weekend- or plotting with her. He had told her about his idea of making Patrick Connolly one of the Aux Atrum, and she had excitedly agreed with him, saying that he needed someone 'his' in that group. Furthermore, she had voluntarily taken upon herself the task of finding out how he could brand followers with the VA mark, so that he could use it to summon them – pretty much like Voldemort's Dark Mark worked.
Orion didn't know the spell that the Spirits used to mark the Aux Atrum, and he obviously didn't want to ask them. Thus, he would need to discover how it was done. And he had also decided how to modify the VA symbol slightly, to make it his personal one. Nevertheless, that would take Calypso and him a couple of weeks, so in the meanwhile, Orion studied - without allowing himself to think about other matters, such as the whole 'vampire lifemate' issue. He still didn't know what to think or feel about that, and he had strategically postponed it for when he met Lezander again.
The tense days came when he got back to Hogwarts. It had been three days already, and Orion had barely caught sight of Draco, and he was starting to feel very worried. Granted, given that it was the last week of school, everyone was studying for their finals –which would take place on Friday- or studying for OWLs in Luna's case. But he rarely saw Draco at the library. Indeed, the boy didn't even answer the two-way mirror. Therefore, Orion could only deduce that his friend was working on the vanishing cabinet. Nonetheless, it worried him because Draco had only three days left before school let out – and that was the deadline Voldemort had given him.
Also, he had received a highly spelled and blood-warded letter on Tuesday, from his father, telling him that he had already contacted Dumbledore. But that was as much as the missive said. Sirius had simply told him that he had been accepted into the Order but that he couldn't go to Potter or Black Manor without raising suspicions. Thus, that he wouldn't see Orion for a while, but that he would communicate again as soon as he was able to do so. Orion had been relieved, and he had also inwardly thanked Grindelwald. It was obvious to him that his father had become more slyly cautious thanks to the German wizard's teachings.
At present it was Wednesday late evening, the last one of the school year, and Orion was ensconced in Hogwarts' library, like most students. Hermione was sitting across from him, nervously chewing on a lock of her own bushy hair, while she flipped a page of an old Transfiguration tome. Again, there was no sight of Draco, and Luna was studying for her OWLs in the private library of her House, in Ravenclaw Tower.
Meanwhile, he was revising for Arithmancy, absentmindedly. The truth was that he felt prepared to take his finals anytime. He was a superb student who studied hard constantly, always making some time for it. Moreover, he was already planning on asking Vagnarov if he could take his PRIMEs before seventh year started. Grindelwald had been right, he couldn't waste his next year by going to school. There were simply too many Vindico-and-war-related things he had to do. Particularly, he needed to start attending Dark Allies meetings again, since he hadn't been able to do that whilst attending Hogwarts. In the end, he had decided to bring up the PRIMEs-issue to Vagnarov next weekend, since he hadn't seen his Headmaster for almost two months, ever since he had demanded to know about the wizard's involvement with Regulus Black. He no longer had Necromancy classes with the wizard, since Loki was gone, the wizard's health was declining and since the old man had told him that it was pointless, now that he was planning on becoming a full-fledged Necromancer by undergoing the Guild's training – Orion hadn't mentioned The Argonaut to anyone.
Abruptly, he was shaken from his musings by the appearance at his side of Jimmy Peakes, a Hufflepuff, who was holding out a scroll of parchment.
"I've been looking everywhere for you," said the boy with a friendly smile. "Dumbledore asked me to give you this."
"Thanks, Peakes," said Orion warmly, grasping the scroll and quickly flicking his wand to make all his textbooks and notes fly into his school bag, while his features were outwardly nonchalant, not revealing the frisson of alarm he felt.
"From Dumbledore?" interjected Hermione eagerly, her curiosity evident, as her head poked out from above the thick tome she had been reading. "What does it say?"
"Nothing important, I'm sure. I'll read it later," replied Orion dismissively, while he quickly swung the strap of his schoolbag over one shoulder. "It's almost curfew time. I'll see you in the common room."
And before she had a chance to nag him, he waved a hand and hastily left the library. As he made his way towards Gryffindor Tower, he unrolled the parchment and scanned it, his face slightly revealing his worry. Dumbledore wanted him to go to his office. It was clear what it was about; they would be leaving in search of a horcrux. This was a problem. He would have to protect the horcrux from Dumbledore, probably duel with the old man to steal it, and it was simply not the right time for it. He couldn't kill the old wizard yet, Draco had to try it first. The Unbreakable Vow Orion had taken wouldn't allow anything else.
This was, indeed, a problem.
At last, he snapped the password to the Fat Lady, hurried through the portrait hole and swiftly crossed the common room. No one even noticed him; they were all too concentrated, worried or frantic in their own studies. Orion quickly reached his dormitory and threw his schoolbag into his trunk, before he made sure that he had everything he needed with him, including his two wands secured into the wand-holsters that Calypso had given him for Christmas, a long while ago.
Then, he hurried out of the common room and along the seventh floor as fast as he could, passing nobody but Peeves, who swooped past in the opposite direction, throwing bits of chalk at Orion in a routine sort of way and cackling loudly as he dodged Orion's hex. Once Peeves had vanished, there was silence in the corridors; with only fifteen minutes left until curfew, most people had already returned to their common rooms.
Abruptly, he heard a scream and a crash, and he stopped in his tracks, listening.
"How dare you - aaaaargh!"
The noise was coming from a corridor nearby, and he knew exactly what was there. Orion sprinted towards it, his wand at the ready, hurtled round another corner and saw Professor Trelawney sprawled upon the floor, her head covered in one of her many shawls, several sherry bottles lying beside her, one broken.
He blinked at the unexpected scene, and had to swallow a snigger as he calmly helped the witch to her feet.
"Are you well, Professor? What happened?" said Orion in polite concern, as she rose up with his help, some of her glittering beads becoming entangled with her glasses, while she hiccoughed loudly and patted her hair.
"You may well ask!" she said shrilly, as she protectively picked up her sherry bottles. "I was strolling along, brooding upon certain Dark portents I happen to have glimpsed..."
Orion merely nodded absentmindedly. As he had expected, on their right was the tapestry of dancing trolls and, on the left, that smoothly impenetrable stretch of stone wall that concealed the Room of Requirement. And the witch had screamed. Therefore, it was obvious that she had been trying to get rid of her sherry bottles by leaving them in the Room, and that something had prevented her from entering… Most likely, someone – Draco. But he needed to make sure, and most importantly, he would need to pay Draco a visit to know how far ahead he was with his task of fixing the vanishing cabinet.
"Professor," said Orion quietly, eyeing her intently, "were you trying to get into the Room of Requirement?"
"...omens I have been vouchsafed - what?" She blinked at him, suddenly looking shifty.
"The Room of Requirement," repeated Orion impatiently. "Were you trying to get in there?"
"I - well - I didn't know students knew about –"
He instantly flicked his wand, casting anti-spying and silencing spells around them, and demanded sharply, "What happened? You screamed-"
"I - well," said Professor Trelawney, drawing her shawls around her defensively and staring at him with her vastly magnified eyes. "I wished to - ah - deposit certain – um – personal items in the Room..." And she muttered something about 'nasty accusations'.
But Orion didn't hear a word, because the instant she had draped her shawls, her long, messy hair had shifted to a side, and he had caught a glimpse of something, for the first time.
His eyes impossibly widened, shocked, and he gasped out disbelievingly, "YOU?!"
