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.


Chapter 20

"Me?" said Trelawney, owlishly blinking at him through her huge spectacles. "Me, what?"

In the bat of an eyelash, Orion slammed her against the wall, wand pointing at her face, and he hissed out, "Drop the act. I saw the mark on your nape – you're an Aux Atrum! The one the Spirits mentioned, the one at Hogwarts!" He narrowed his eyes at her, and demanded sharply, "Are you Sybil Trelawney, or someone under a glamour or Polyjuice Potion?"

The witch drew herself up, utterly ignoring the wand pointed menacingly at her face, and straightened the shawls around her shoulders and neck. Meanwhile, Orion intently gazed at her in silence, noticing the abrupt differences. Her eyes were still magnified by her huge eyeglasses, but there wasn't dumb stupidity in them, as usual. Instead, there was sharpness, and a scrutinizing, sly glint. Her attitude had also changed. Once, she had been a witch who always seemed lost, confused, insecure, and out-of-reality. Now, before him stood a woman still plain-looking but with a new pose of self-confidence and sternness.

"I am Sybil Trelawney," she said curtly, piercing him with her spectacled eyes, "and as you said, I'm an Aux. It's clear to me, now, that the rumors are true - you can see our mark. Good. I was wondering when you would discover me." She waved a hand dismissively, and added calmly, "I'll no longer need to conceal my mission from you."

"Which is?" snapped Orion, narrowing his eyes at her.

Trelawney arched an eyebrow, and replied impassively, "To watch over, and protect, certain students, of course. To make sure we don't lose the scions of valuable pureblooded dark bloodlines – students from Slytherin and some from Ravenclaw, and-"

"Students like Draco Malfoy," interrupted Orion accusingly, pinning her with his gaze while he poked his wand's tip into her neck. "You were trying to see what he was up to, weren't you? That's why you attempted to get in the Room of Requirements. Not to hide your sherry bottles, but to spy for the Spirits. You, with your sherry bottles and clueless attitude, have been putting up an act, all this time!"

"Of course I have," said Trelawney coolly. "Aux Atrum in delicate positions, like myself, must perform roles which will avert attention and suspicions from us. Dumbledore wouldn't have hired me if I hadn't appeared to be a dim-witted and harmless witch, since I am, indeed, a descendant of Cassandra. He knew that. Though, thankfully, he has never truly believed in Divination nor suspected the extent of a Seer's powers." She leveled him with a sharp gaze, and demanded, "Do you know who Cassandra was?"

"Yes," replied Orion impatiently, "she was the daughter of King Priam of Troy. A dark witch who prophetized, in detail, the destruction of her country, but no one believed her and she could do nothing to forestall the tragedies that befell upon them. And you've said, even in class, that you're her descendant. But I don't see how this is relevant-"

"It's relevant because she was also a claire-voyant," interjected Trelawney sharply, "like myself."

"A clairvoyant?" snapped Orion, eyeing her closely. "That's a muggle term-"

"A claire-voyant, not clairvoyant," said the witch pointedly, before she scoffed. "It's a wizarding term, which muggles misspelled and mispronounced. Ages ago, some muggle must have heard one of us using it, and then applied it to allude to those of their kind who are more perceptive than others. But no muggle is really a claire-voyant, since muggles See nothing, do they? They don't have magic. Now, let me enlighten you; 'claire-voyant' is French for-"

"Clear sighted," interrupted Orion briskly, his impatience and angered irritation growing, both induced as well by her condescending tone.

"Precisely," said Trelawney, her lips stretching into a thin smile. "It's the name given to Seers with certain… abilities. It comes from Claire Voyant, the first witch in whom this ability was manifested. And her mother must have had an inkling regarding her powers, given the way she chose to name her daughter." Her smile spread into a sharp curve. "You see, we're all women. You won't find a single wizard who's a Seer. The Seer trait passes from mother to daughter or granddaughter – it can skip generations but it will always be carried in the females of a bloodline. That's why you might notice that in Seer lines we carry the surname of our mother; our father's surnames are irrelevant since their abilities are nothing when compared to the skills we inherit from our female ancestors."

"Fascinating," said Orion with veiled sarcasm - though it was interesting, since he hadn't known, but his impatience was pressing- and he continued in a biting tone of voice, "Alright, so you're a claire-voyant Seer. What does that mean? What abilities do you posses that are different from those of normal Seers?"

"Abilities which make me invaluable to the Spirits," replied Trelawney curtly. "There are many different types of Seers, and our distinct skills mostly depend on the kind of magic we carry –either dark or light. In my case, I come from a dark bloodline with the claire-voyant trait, which means that I clearly See and comprehend any vision I have." She stared at him, and added pointedly, "As well as any prophecy I make. Unlike non-claire-voyant Seers, I have the capacity to sense when I have uttered a prophecy, and later, I can extract that memory from my mind and use a special kind of pensieve to discover what I have prophetized." She thinly smiled at him again. "Indeed, I've seen you, in my visions, many times, young man - years before you were born. That's why the Spirits wanted me, and why I accepted to become an Aux – because I knew you were coming."

Orion had instantly stiffened, and piercing her with a hard gaze, he demanded briskly, "So you know about the prophecy you made? The one you made before Dumbledore?"

Trelawney let out a sharp chuckle, before she replied airily, "Of course I do. Oh, I played the part of a clueless witch, unsuspecting of her own Seer abilities, but I immediately sensed that I had prophetized something, and I could tell by Dumbledore's reaction." She mockingly smiled at him. "The old man hired me because of it. I couldn't have planned it better myself-"

"So it's real?" interrupted Orion, narrowing his eyes while he scrutinized every twitch of her features. "The prophecy is real, and it's about me?"

"Yes, it is, on both accounts."

"What about the interpretation?" demanded Orion sharply, intently eyeing her. "Dumbledore believes it means that Voldemort and I will end up killing one or the other. And… someone has told me the Spirits' interpretation-"

"Lord Grindelwald told you," interjected Trelawney curtly. "I know he's alive and with you, young man – all Aux do. There's no need to beat around the bush with me. And yes, I'm perfectly aware of how the prophecy I made has been interpreted by all parties."

"So who's right?" asked Orion crisply, piercing her with his eyes. "Is it as simple as Dumbledore believes or does it truly regard a Vindico candidate who'll have to kill all Dark Lords alive in his time, in order to garner the magical power necessary to survive the ultimate test and succeed in becoming the VA? Who's right, Dumbledore or the Spirits?"

"Both and neither, because there isn't a correct interpretation," said Trelawney loftily, before she shot him a stern gaze. "Many prophecies have passed unfulfilled, young man. A prophecy, in itself, lacks power. What matters is if it's heard, by whom, and how it was interpreted and acted upon. When I saw the memory of myself uttering the Prophecy, I knew it was about you –a future Vindico candidate of Black ancestry- since I had seen your face in my visions already. There is no doubt in my mind that it regards you and your aim and ability to become the Vindico Atrum. Nevertheless, the Prophecy would have been meaningless and irrelevant if no one had heard it." She intently stared at him, and whispered sharply, "In that case, your life wouldn't have been affected by it; not at all or until decades later, at least. You wouldn't be in your path to become the Vindico if Dumbledore hadn't heard it, if Snape hadn't eavesdropped, and later, if I hadn't told the Spirits-"

"You're not giving me a concrete answer," interrupted Orion with annoyed hastiness. "I want to know if-"

"You want to know if you can stop it from being fulfilled," said Trelawney sharply, leveling him with a piercing gaze. "No, you can't - because you and others believed in it. You gave it power. You and others acted on it, and thus, it got started. Even by knowing about it, you triggered it. Yours and others' decisions have been influenced by it, making it true. It will be fulfilled because all of you made it start, triggering a series of events that will conclude in how the Prophecy predicts. You will kill the Dark Lords or they will kill you." Her lips curled upwards. "Lord Grindelwald already feels the desire to kill you, doesn't he? Indeed, in the end, only one of you three will survive and succeed. There's no way to stop it now, young man. It commenced years ago, and it has progressed too far ahead, already."

A stretch of silence spread between them, and finally Orion curtly nodded, before he narrowed his eyes at her, wand still aimed at her face. "Fine, now tell me something else. I know that all Aux Atrum are very skilled in mind-magic. So, have you been influencing Draco? Is that also part of your 'mission'?"

"I've been watching over the Malfoy Heir," replied Trelawney curtly, squaring her shawl-covered shoulders. "Given his bloodlines, he's important for the Spirits and the Aux. Furthermore, I've been watching over every important student in this school. Yes, I've influenced some minds, following the Spirits' orders, so that some students developed certain attachments towards specified others. I'm merely the Spirits' tool; used so that certain bloodlines cross with others, to yield purer and magical powerful children in the future. Though, in this regard, I didn't need to influence the Malfoy Heir's mind." She gazed at him, and added pointedly, "I'm aware that the Spirits have told you this already. The young Malfoy already has romantic feelings for you. I didn't need to do anything."

"Yeah, I know about that," said Orion crisply, his eyes narrowing to slits as he pressed his wand's tip against her jaw. "But I want to know if he… well, he entered a room when I had told him not to. I had also casted powerful locking spells on the room's door, and he cancelled them and entered, nonetheless. He said he was curious about what I was doing, but the consequences of it… it's very suspicious-"

"Because you bonded with him, forming an attachment you won't be able to sever. Just what the Spirits hoped, since they want you two to be together and produce a powerful offspring," interjected Trelawney, thinly smiling at him. "Oh, yes, I know exactly what you're referring to. I knew you took him to the Chamber of Secrets and I knew that you were going to try to unblock the Resurrection Stone Hallow – the Spirits told me to be on the look-out for when it happened. And I knew that you were going to put it on, and be affected by it. I saw it, in a vision, and revealed it to the Spirits. Of course, I was ordered to make it happen." Her smile stretched, though it wasn't warm, but sharp and satisfied. "So, yes, I used mind-magic to see through the Malfoy Heir's mind and I made his curiosity and determination increase. He entered that room, and you ended up consuming a bit of his soul's essence, because I caused it by slightly tampering with his mind." She gazed at him expectantly, and said coolly, "Are you going to hate me for it? Or the Spirits? Just for doing what was required-"

"No, I won't hate you," bit out Orion, lowering his wand. "You're just their tool." He chuckled mirthlessly, and continued in a low, harsh voice, "And I already hate the Spirits too much. Oh, I'm seething with anger, but it doesn't add much more to the contempt and hatred I already feel for them. Furthermore, what you disclosed doesn't surprise me at all. I suspected their involvement for a while."

"Good-"

"Nevertheless," interjected Orion in a deadly cold tone of voice, while pocketing his wand, "mess with Draco again, and I'll make you regret it. I won't care if you're following the Spirits' orders or not." He pierced her with his eyes, and demanded sharply, "You said you had visions about me, even before I was born. What have you Seen?"

Trelawney gazed at him in silence. Then, a thin smile stretched on her lips, and she lowered her face, never breaking eye-contact, and whispered, "The question is: what have you Seen?" Her voice lowered even further, and her magnified eyes glinted as she continued, "Do you hear them, in your dreams, calling you 'Vindico'? Do you see yourself leading armies, razing and destroying every enemy in your path? Does the clash of swords and bellows of curses resound in your mind, along with the echo of their fervent, zealous battle-cry? Vindico – Vindico – Vindico! Do you hear it, in your sleep?"

"How do you know about that?" bit out Orion stiffly, narrowing his eyes at her. "Did the Spirits tell you about my 'visions'?"

"They did," replied Trelawney, her smile spreading, "though it wasn't necessary for them to tell me. I've Seen what you have – and much more."

"What else have you Seen?" demanded Orion sharply.

"That, I cannot tell you," said the witch curtly. "Seers carry a great burden and responsibility, for we know that if we disclose what our visions foretell, we might cause great havoc and destruction. No, young man, some things I cannot tell you."

"Fine," grunted Orion, narrowing his eyes at her. "Can you tell me, at least, why I have my visions? If they are real, and who is causing them?"

"They are real, and you have visions because you're meant to," said Trelawney simply. "Oh, you are no Seer, but you catch glimpses of the future – the most probable one. But always remember that the future is never fixed; it's an ever-changing flow of events, and the slightest disruption can modify everything, rushing forth like a tidal wave. And you should realize that by having these visions of yours, you're -in a way- making them happen. As for 'who' is causing them…" She thinly smiled at him. "That's something you will need to discover for yourself. If I told you, you would know too soon, and it would be catastrophic. You're not prepared to know - not yet."

Orion had half a mind to curse her; his fingers were actually twitching right in front the pocket in which he had stowed his wand. Nevertheless, he dropped his hand and didn't do anything, besides staring at her in silence. She wouldn't give him more answers and he realized that he couldn't gain them by force either. Moreover, as a Seer, perhaps she had the right to keep her information – besides all that stuff about the chaotic consequences of revealing what she had seen in her visions. Also, she was an Aux who he could later use. If he employed force against her, he would only alienate a future valuable supporter.

At last, he curtly nodded at her, and said icily, "Alright. Now leave, there's something I have to do and I don't wish to have an audience."

"Very well," said Trelawney calmly, "but first, I would like to know if you're giving me any orders."

"Orders?" asked Orion, frowning at her, before he speculatively arched an eyebrow. "Are you telling me that you would obey any order I gave you? Why? The Aux Atrum would only obey the Vindico, and I'm not-"

"You're not It," interrupted the witch impassively. "Quite right, young man, you're not – yet. But I've Seen…" She waved a hand in a vague manner. "I've Seen many things. Thus, I would obey you, even considering that your commands supersede those of the Spirits', because I know that you're what the Dark has been waiting for. So, I ask again, would you like to give me a command?"

"Depends," said Orion musingly. "What are your first-priority orders, at present?"

"To insure the safety of certain students," replied Trelawney gravely. "I am to stay at Hogwarts, no matter the circumstances, in order to make sure that none of the relevant scions comes to harm."

"I see," said Orion with a sharp nod. "That's fine. Keep doing that." He shot her a piercing glance, and continued quietly, "Though, if I asked and needed it, I will expect to receive your help."

"Certainly. You'll have it," said the Seer, thinly smiling at him. Then, she pointedly glanced at the stretch of plain wall, and added curtly, "I know what the Malfoy Heir is doing in there. Indeed, I was trying to get inside in order to warn him about an omen supposedly revealed to me in my Tarot cards – of course, I would have acted like the batty Divination Professor." Her gaze flickered back to him, and she pierced him with her magnified eyes. "But I truly had a vision about tonight. I cannot tell you much, or more disaster would loom for you and the consequences would be more unpredictable, but I can tell you that you must protect the Malfoy Heir – he'll be at risk. Also, beware at the Tower."

Orion stared at her, puzzled. "What tower? Gryffindor or Ravenclaw Tower? Or the Astronomy Tower-?"

"Just remember – beware and watch your back," said Trelawney sternly, before her eyes adopted an owlish and dumb glint.

Then, she swiftly turned around and made her way along the corridor, stumbling and hiccupping as if drunk, carrying her sherry bottles, and with her long shawls trailing on the floor. At last, Orion was left alone, gazing at her retreating back with a frown on his forehead.

Yes, her acting skills were superb, just like Slughorn's had been. Apparently, just like it was required from most Aux Atrum. And several things had become clearer to him, after their conversation. Yet, her answers concerning the prophecy and his 'visions' hadn't been as rotund and straight-forward as he would have liked. Moreover, he had fleetingly considered the possibility that Trelawney had lied to him; that the prophecy had been made up by the Spirits, in order to push, whichever VA candidate popped up, into killing any Dark Lords alive. But he trusted Grindelwald over everyone else, knowing that the man would have instantly told him if it wasn't real. And the wizard believed in the validity and interpretation of the prophecy. Therefore, all in all, the only things he could conclude were: that the prophecy was real, that what it predicted would come to happen since many people had heard it and acted on it, and that prophecies on the whole were a very messy and convoluted matter. Frankly, he wished no one had ever heard it.

Nevertheless, prophecy or not, none of it changed his plans and it was pointless to keep wondering about the darned prediction. Therefore, Orion shook his head and hastily paced three times up and down along the stretch of wall, while he whispered quickly, "I need the place where everything is hidden… I need the place where everything is hidden… I need the place where everything is hidden..."

Finally, before his eyes, a great door materialized, and he yanked it open. The instant he set foot inside, he heard a booming and echoing voice, yelling in triumphant rejoice. And Orion ran through the maze of teetering piles of junk, knowing, given the sound of Draco's voice, that everything was about to turn even more complicated.

He turned left, and the alleyway he had taken finally led him to stand a few feet away from the vanishing cabinet, no longer looking broken. And his gaze instantly zeroed in on a gleefully whooping Draco. He observed him in silence, noticing the new sparkle in the young wizard's silvery eyes and the pale cheeks flushed with excitement.

Orion took a step forward, making his presence known, and the other boy suddenly swirled around, a beaming smile spreading on his face.

"You're here!" said Draco ecstatically, swooping him into a tight hug, before he spun Orion around in his arms, chuckling merrily. "I did it – I finally fixed the bloody thing! Now my family will be safe and the Dark Lord-"

"That's great," breathed out Orion, tightly clutching the boy's arms and allowing himself to be swirled around, while his lips stretched into his best grin, though he hardly felt cheerful at all.

Why did it have to be that night? Just the same night in which he would surely go out horcrux-hunting with Dumbledore… As if Trelawney's vague warning hadn't been enough, he certainly knew now that that night would be crucial but also dangerously complex.

"Yeah, it is!" said Draco with a wide smirk, his silvery eyes flashing eagerly while he settled Orion back on the floor. "And I've never felt so good in my life! I feel as if I could do anything imaginable, and succeed – as if a vast sea of infinite opportunities has opened up for me!" His smirk became a beaming smile, and he slowly trailed his fingertips along Orion's cheek, as he whispered excitedly, "I feel, for instance, that if I were to kiss you right now, you would kiss me back just as ardently. And that you would finally agree to be together, to be mine. I feel it, I know it!"

Draco inched his face closer, but Orion instantly pushed him away, though he did it gently.

"Now's not the time for it," he said quietly, his voice carrying a hint of sternness. Then, he narrowed his eyes, and asked suspiciously, "You drank all the Felix Felicis potion I gave you?"

"Yup," said Draco elated, his lips spreading into a wide smirk. "I took it in the morning and I've been working on the cabinet almost all day. And it was amazing! I simply knew, almost instinctively, where everything went and just what spells to use-"

"If you took it in the morning," interrupted Orion musingly, "then the effects will soon vanish." He pierced him with his eyes, and added gravely, "You cannot be overconfident, Draco. Your 'luck' will soon run out."

"So what?" said Draco utterly unconcerned. He shook his head and grasped Orion's arm, as he said excitedly, "Don't you understand? I accomplished part of my task. Now I only have to get in the Forbidden Forest, beyond the school wards, to apparate before the Dark Lord and tell him that he can send the Death Eaters through Borgin's cabinet. Then, they'll come out here in an hour, at most, and we'll blast open Dumbledore's office and I'll finally kill him!" He shook Orion's arm, and continued eagerly, "I'll be hailed as a hero and my mother and father will be safe. I'll see my father again, Orion! He and the others were broken out from Azkaban two days ago. My mother wrote to me with the news, but the Dark Lord won't let me see him until I've succeeded in my mission-"

"Lucius is out?" gasped out Orion, staring at him with wide eyes. "But nothing was said in the newspapers-"

"Of course it wasn't!" interjected Draco with a chuckle. "Scrimgeour took a leaf from Fudge's book, and he's covering it up! It's the Minister's way of making sure that the Light's morale doesn't drop." He scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Scrimgeour is doing everything he can so no one discovers that Azkaban has been breached, yet again." He shot him a wide, devious smirk. "But it will do him no good. After I kill Dumbledore, we –Death Eaters- will be on the move, attacking and seizing control of the Ministry, Diagon Alley, Hogwarts, and St. Mungo's. Just for starters, because later we'll take-"

"Hang on," interrupted Orion, intently piercing him with his eyes. "So all of that is what Voldemort has been planning?" Draco nodded, looking supremely satisfied and smug, and he continued in a troubled voice, "Alright, I understand. It was to be expected. But tell me something, which is the first target?"

"Hogwarts, of course!" replied Draco cheerfully, gesturing at the vanishing cabinet. "The idea is that a group of Death Eaters will come through the cabinet, that I'll kill Dumbledore and that they'll seize Hogwarts, making it the Dark Lord's domain, at last. Once we have Hogwarts, then we'll attack the Ministry, and-"

"And the plan is to take hold of Hogwarts tonight?" said Orion, feeling a frisson of worried alarm.

"Yes!" said Draco exultantly, widely smirking at him.

Orion shook his head, and said pressingly, "Can't you postpone it for tomorrow? Don't go to Voldemort tonight. Don't tell him you're done with the cabinet-"

"Are you mad?!" spat Draco, staring at him, appalled and incredulously. "Of course I'm going to tell him straight away – my father is in his clutches! Merlin knows what his state is and how he's faring. You cannot ask that of me. The Dark Lord might be torturing him as we speak, since I took so long in fixing the cabinet. And school will be over in two days – and that was my deadline! No, I won't do it. I won't waste another breath and I'll go right to the Dark Lord-"

"I understand your point," interrupted Orion with a heavy sigh. He fiercely rubbed his forehead, and snapped stressfully, "But damn it, Draco, this will complicate matters further!" He tightly clutched the boy's shoulders and sunk his gaze into his. "It will not go as smoothly as you think. Dumbledore has asked me to go to his office, and I'm certain that we'll be away from the school for some hours – No, don't ask me why or what we'll be doing. Just know that Dumbledore and I won't be here." He released the young wizard's shoulders and clenched his jaw. "But I understand your concern for Lucius. Fine, we'll do it tonight. And I'll let you know when we come back to Hogwarts. I think the best is for you to wait with the Death Eaters, hiding someplace inside Hogwarts from where you could see us arrive." He pierced him with his eyes, and demanded, "Does Severus know about the Death Eater breach into the school?"

"No," replied Draco promptly. "The Dark Lord hasn't told him and he's not part of the mission's group." He crossed his arms over his chest, and drawled coolly, "And I won't tell him either. The Dark Lord ordered me not to tell him a word about it. I think he suspects Severus' loyalty."

Orion massaged his temples, and muttered, "Yeah, he has plenty of reasons to do so. I'll need to remedy that situation."

"What are you talking about?" asked Draco, eyeing him quizzically. "I don't see why the Dark Lord should suspect Severus. He's never acted as anything but a staunch supporter and a committed Death Eater. He's been spying on Dumbledore all this time, you told me that."

"Perhaps someday I'll explain it to you," said Orion, waving his hand dismissively. Then he tightly grabbed the boy's forearm, and added sternly, "Listen to me, you mentioned once that you had someone under the Imperius Curse - the one who gave Katie Bell the opal necklace. Who is it? I need to know, perhaps I can use him."

Draco smugly smirked at him. "It's a 'her'. It's Rosmerta, of the Three Broomsticks pub."

"Madam Rosmerta?" said Orion, his lips curving into a grin. "My, my, Drakey-poo, you are indeed a sly one. She's a very good choice. Perfect! Alright, so this is what we'll do. Make her spy my comings and goings with Dumbledore. Then, she'll be able to alert you once we get back-"

"That's what I planned on doing the second you told me that the old coot and you were leaving the school," scoffed Draco, with a roll of his eyes. "I can be just as smart and cunning as you."

"Yeah, you can," said Orion, shooting him a warm and proud smile. "Good, then everything is settled. Use her to know when we arrive; in the meanwhile, stay hidden with the Death Eaters. And have the two-way mirror with you at all times. I might use it to communicate with you. Furthermore, I'll alert Severus once I'm back-"

Draco scowled at him, while he swiftly interrupted, "I don't think you should-"

"He needs to know," snapped Orion hastily, piercing him with his eyes. "I thought you were starting to trust your godfather more, Draco. He has been trying to help you all this time, as I have repeatedly told you. Anyway, I need him to be aware of what will happen, so I'll let him know." He paused, and then frowned at him. "What about Rodolphus? What are his orders?"

"I'm not sure," replied Draco pensively. "Maybe the Dark Lord will ask him to keep his façade as Horace Slughorn, or maybe he'll reveal himself and participate in the mission." He shrugged his shoulders indifferently. "It doesn't matter either way; we won't need him for this. It has been planned exhaustively. Of course that there'll be unforeseeable bumps in the way, but we're ready to take hold of the school once I kill the old goat."

"Right, I would love to hear all the details about your plan," interjected Orion quickly, "but I must get going or Dumbledore will wonder what's taking me so long." He grabbed the young wizard's shoulders once again, and added urgently, "Listen, Draco, whatever happens, I must be there with you when you get the chance to kill the old codger. Remember the Unbreakable Vow I took. Moreover, if things go wrong, then trust and depend on Severus. He'll help you if I can't."

Draco narrowed his eyes at him, and bit out angrily, "I won't need help-"

"Promise that you'll rely on him!" snapped Orion pressingly, inwardly concerned about the vague warning that Trelawney had given him. "A thousand things can go wrong, and quite frankly, I have the feeling that they will. I know that you can take care of yourself, but you'll assuage my worry if I know that you'll accept Severus' help and heed his orders, if things go wrong. And I might be… involved in other matters. So I want to know that you'll obey Severus if the whole thing takes an ugly turn."

"Fine," gritted out Draco, scowling at him with crossed arms. "I will."

"Excellent," said Orion, shooting him a smile. He briefly squeezed the boy's forearm, before releasing him. "I have to leave now. Take care, be on your guard, remember that the Felix Felicis' effects will fade away soon, and have the two-way mirror with you at all times. I'll see you soon!"

And with that, he spun around, his gaze briefly flickering towards a chipped bust of an ugly old warlock wearing a dusty wig, seeing on it a tarnished tiara, right where he had left it. Relieved that the horcrux hadn't been moved or discovered, as expected given its inconspicuousness, he swiftly ran out from the Room of Hidden Things. With his heart pumping fast in his chest, he made a mad rush along the corridors, feeling anxiety creeping on him. He could only hope that the horcrux they were going to find would be a used and empty one, with no piece of soul left to destroy, since he couldn't confront Dumbledore too soon. Everything had to occur in precise timing, or all his plans would fall apart.


At last, he dashed around the corner into Dumbledore's corridor, where the lone gargoyle stood sentry. Orion hastily snapped the password at the gargoyle and ran up the moving spiral staircase three steps at a time. He hastily knocked on the door, knowing that time was of the essence – the sooner they got back, the better. The second a calm voice answered 'Enter', he flung himself into the room, his expression one of excitement.

"I just got your letter from Jimmy Peakes," rushed out Orion, briefly glancing at his surroundings. "This is it, isn't it, sir? You finally discovered the location of a horcrux?"

Fawkes was perched on his stand, sleepily gazing at him with his bright black eyes, which gleamed with the reflected gold from the sunset beyond the window. Dumbledore was standing at the window looking out at the grounds, a long, black travelling cloak in his arms, before he turned around to gaze at him over his half-moon spectacles.

"Yes," said the old wizard, his expression grave and serious, "and as I promised, you can come with me."

Orion inwardly frowned, wondering the reason for the man's expression, and he asked with purposed eagerness, "Which horcrux is it?"

"I am not sure which it is - though I think we can rule out the snake," said Dumbledore calmly, before he hesitated and sternly pierced him with his blue eyes. "I promised you that you could come with me, and I stand by that promise, but it would be very wrong of me not to warn you that this will be exceedingly dangerous."

"I'm coming," interjected Orion quickly, pulling a determined expression over his features while he warmly smiled at him. "I need to know how to destroy horcruxes, since I'll be doing it in the future, sir."

Dumbledore drew himself up to his full height, and pinned him with a grave gaze. "Very well, then listen. I take you with me on one condition: that you obey any command I might give you at once, and without question."

"Of course," said Orion instantly, nodding at him.

"Be sure to understand me, Orion," said Dumbledore, tilting his chin down to stare at him over his half-moon spectacles. "I mean that you must follow even such orders as 'run', 'hide' or 'go back'. Do I have your word?"

"Yes, of course."

"If I tell you to hide, you will do so?"

"Yes."

"If I tell you to flee, you will obey?"

"Yes."

"If I tell you to leave me, and save yourself, you will do as I tell you?"

Orion inwardly scoffed, he would do that in a heartbeat, but instead, he showed reluctance and said hesitatingly, "I…"

"Orion?" pressed Dumbledore, eyeing him with stern concern.

And at that, Orion silently stared at him, and they locked gazes. No doubt Dumbledore had to be thinking that he wanted to protect him, but that wasn't the reason for his silence, obviously. Orion was simply inwardly amazed; the old man was actually worried about his safety, instead of his own. The man, apparently, cared about him, and he couldn't understand why. Was it only because the old wizard wanted him stay alive long enough to dying fighting Voldemort? Or was it something else? Things were getting weirder by the moment.

Would the old wizard still protect him if he knew that he had killed Nymphadora Tonks? Or that he had killed Crouch Sr. and done nothing to prevent Neville Longbottom's murder? That he had killed his worthless muggle Uncle and Peter Pettigrew? Or that he was still Voldemort's spouse, magically though not in practice?

Would Dumbledore's benevolence reach as far as to disregard all those things? Though, he wondered if it was benevolence at all. Frankly, he didn't know anymore what to think about the old man. 'Idiot' was the first word that came into his mind, since Dumbledore was being such by still, apparently, worrying about someone whom the old wizard knew to be really on the Dark's side. Admittedly, as of lately, he couldn't decipher Dumbledore; not the wizard's motives, thoughts or plans. Even less, the old wizard's persistent concern about him; seemingly well-intentioned.

Finally, Orion nodded and said quietly, "Yes, sir."

"Very good," said Dumbledore sternly, before he gazed out the fiery window.

The sun was now a ruby-red glare along the horizon, casting a scarlet hue in the old man's blue eyes, and Orion observed him mutely, slightly frowning when he saw the wizard's far-away and gravely pensive expression. Now, he wondered even more what was on the old man's mind.

Dumbledore turned to face him once again, and asked in a low, serious tone of voice, "Do you know how to cast the Disillusionment Charm, my boy?"

"No," said Orion, acting surprised, while the lie smoothly rolled from his tongue. "It's beyond NEWT level, sir."

The old wizard sharply gazed at him over his half-moon spectacles, before he warmly smiled. "Of course. I'll cast it on you then, since I don't want anyone seeing that you're with me. Please stand before me, my dear boy."

Orion nodded and took three steps forward, staring expectantly at him, purposely not allowing his eyes to drift to the wand that was being held over his head. Merlin, he could sense it on his skin; a feeling of leashed power coming off the Elder Wand. And as Dumbledore tapped the wand's tip on Orion's head, his fingers imperceptibly twitched. This was the first time he had been touched by the Undefeatable Wand and he longed to wrap his fingers around it, to feel its power pulsing under his touch. It felt different from the Invisibility Cloak, it felt much more powerful, and it also felt tranquilly mild in comparison to the Resurrection Stone, which always gave off a sense of threatening danger and consuming allure. The wand simply felt as if it was thrumming and buzzing with contained power. He almost expected it to vibrate, though it didn't. Nevertheless, Orion couldn't restrain a shiver of pleasure and desire, and he instantly grimaced, acting as though his shiver had been caused by the feeling of having the Charm casted on him, which always felt as if an egg had been cracked on his head, as if the egg's white and yolk were sliding down his hair.

Then, the moment he saw his body turning invisible and disappearing, Dumbledore swiftly pocketed the wand and said calmly, "Off we go, my boy. Follow me."

They silently moved along the deserted corridors, all students already in their respective common rooms or dorms, since it was well past curfew. And all the while, Orion matched the old man's surprisingly energetic, long strides, though the wizard's manner was leisurely. They made it through the oaken front doors, and by then, Orion was panting puffs of breath, becoming alarmed due to it. That was until he remembered that his physical tiredness was caused by the potion he was daily imbibing. Furthermore, he abruptly remembered that, in his hastiness, he hadn't taken it that late evening, as he always did around that time. He made a mental note of drinking the potion as soon as he could, once he got back, and proceeded to follow Dumbledore down the stone steps, with the old man's travelling cloak barely stirring in the still summer air. Orion hurried alongside him as they crossed the grounds, still panting and tiredly sweating quite a bit.

"What will people think when they see you leaving, sir?" whispered Orion with curiosity.

"That I am off into Hogsmeade for a drink," murmured Dumbledore lightly, without glancing at him. "I sometimes offer Rosmerta my custom, or else visit the Hog's Head… or I appear to. It is as good a way as any of disguising one's true destination."

Orion inwardly scoffed. No doubt that the old wizard also went to Hog's Head to see his estranged brother. Well, it was obvious that Dumbledore would certainly not tell him about Aberforth, though the old wizard had promised to have a 'close and personal conversation' with him – it hadn't happened yet. It left him wondering if Dumbledore had meant it, if the old wizard had been planning on telling him about his past. He inwardly shook his head. It didn't matter anymore, because Dumbledore wouldn't have the chance; the old man would be killed that night.

They made their way down the drive in the gathering twilight. The air was full of the smells of warm grass, lake water and wood smoke from that oaf's, Hagrid, cabin.

"Sir," said Orion quietly, as the gates at the bottom of the drive came into view, "will we be apparating?"

"Yes," replied Dumbledore, briefly side-glancing at him, though Orion wasn't surprised at all about the old man's ability to see through a Disillusionment Charm – indeed, he had suspected about that for long while, and he knew that the man could also see through Invisibility Cloaks, that's why he always used the parsel-invisibility spell instead. "You can apparate now, I expect?"

"Yes," said Orion honestly, thinking that it was best not to lie about it, since that could also raise suspicions, "but I haven't got a license."

"No matter," interjected Dumbledore dismissively, "I can assist you."

They turned out of the gates into the twilit, deserted lane to Hogsmeade. Darkness descended fast as they walked and by the time they reached the High Street night was falling in earnest. Lights twinkled from windows over shops and as they neared the Three Broomsticks they heard raucous shouting.

"-and stay out!" shouted Madam Rosmerta, forcibly ejecting a grubby-looking wizard. "Oh, hello, Albus... you're out late... "

Orion covertly inspected her, inwardly smirking with pride when he saw that her eyes weren't fogged and that her manner wasn't robotic. Draco was certainly very skilled with the Imperius Curse. There was no way of telling that she was under the Unforgivable. Indeed, he couldn't have casted and maintained it better himself.

"Good evening, Rosmerta, good evening… forgive me, I'm off to the Hog's Head… no offence, but I feel like a quieter atmosphere tonight…"

A minute later they turned the corner into the side street where the Hog's Head's sign creaked a little, though there was no breeze. In contrast to the Three Broomsticks, the pub appeared to be completely empty.

"It will not be necessary for us to enter," muttered Dumbledore, glancing around. "As long as nobody sees us go... now place your hand upon my arm, Orion. There is no need to grip too hard, I am merely guiding you. On the count of three - one ... two ... three ..."

After obeying, Orion felt at once the familiar and uncomfortable sensation that he was being squeezed through a thick rubber tube; he could not draw breath, every part of him was being compressed almost past endurance. Nevertheless, he could only think about one thing. Grindelwald wasn't fully informed about current affairs regarding Dumbledore and Aberforth. It was evident to him, given Dumbledore's casual mention of the Hog's Head, that Aberforth would be covering for Dumbledore's absence from the school, if the need arose. Matters between the brothers weren't as tense as Grindelwald believed. Perhaps, they had even made a tentative peace, after all those decades.

Suddenly, he found himself landing in cool darkness, breathing in lungfuls of fresh, salty air. Orion could hear rushing waves, and a light, chilly breeze ruffled his hair as he looked out at moon-lit sea and star-strewn sky. He was standing upon a high outcrop of dark rock, water foaming and churning below him. He glanced over his shoulder. A towering cliff stood behind them, a sheer drop, black and faceless. A few large chunks of rock, such as the one upon which Orion and Dumbledore were standing, looked as though they had broken away from the cliff face at some point in the past. It was a bleak, harsh view, the sea and the rock unrelieved by any tree or sweep of grass or sand.

And abruptly, Orion was encompassed by a kind of eerie déjà vu. He shuddered, everything around him felt strangely familiar, and he had a flash of a past recollection. He had been here, once, trudging along the rocks, making his way towards… a cave? Yes, a dark, damp cave with… limbs moving in the water? Yes, and he had been a young Regulus Black, with his heart loudly pounding in his chest, followed by an old house-elf, while he glanced around the shadows, tense and alert. He remembered feeling scared but also resolved and pained. He was determined to find and destroy the horcrux, yet it grieved him as well… He had wished that everything would have turned out differently. To be valued and priced by the wizard he loved, instead of being treated as a pet… Yet, he couldn't withstand the humiliation anymore. And even if the chances of being discovered were very high, he rather die, with the blazing certainty that he would come back, more powerful, more skilled, with a second chance to be great, just like they had said to him… Yet, he didn't only want to be the Dark's legendary prophet. He wanted to be magnificent, to hold Voldemort's life in his hands, and to make him yearn for him, long for his attentions… he wanted the wizard to become obsessed with him, and then, he would bestow his affections on the wizard, knowing they were reciprocated, since only obsession would be strong enough to make Voldemort feel anything at all… And finally, he would have the wizard utterly for himself, at his side; always, in greatness and perpetuity-

"What do you think?" asked Dumbledore pleasantly, as if they were discussing matters over tea and biscuits.

The words cut through Orion's mind, and abruptly, the recollection popped away, is if it was a balloon which had been pinched. He dazedly gazed at the old wizard, quickly blinking, trying to gather his own senses back. It had been… unsettling. Regulus' thoughts… Merlin's staff, it was clear that he – that Regulus had been obsessed with Voldemort. He hadn't realized how much, until now. What had he been planning? To destroy some horcruxes yet leave Voldemort alive, tied to him? How – why? He had thought that, in the end, Regulus had been determined to see Voldemort dead, but it obviously wasn't the case. It was evident that the Spirits had told him that he would be reborn as a VA candidate, but, even knowing that such candidates had to kill Dark Lords, Regulus didn't want to do that once his soul was reborn. It was perturbing, the similarities-

"That's where I believe the horcrux is hidden," said Dumbledore, pointing at something in the distance. "There's cave down there; a place I've been trying to locate for a very long time. The cave in which Tom Riddle once terrorized two children from his orphanage on their annual trip. Do you remember that I once mentioned it to you?"

Orion nodded absentmindedly. What he remembered clearly was locket-Tom smugly telling him about it; of how he had tortured those children who had called him an 'abomination' and the 'devil's spawn', terms they had heard from the orphanage's caretakers. And he had understood Tom's reasons for it, and not even batted an eyelash when the portrait had smirked at him, highly self-satisfied, while revealing to him that those children were never quite right in the head after the incident. Well, he still understood Tom, but… He inwardly shook his head, snapping out of it. He couldn't waste time thinking about Tom or about himself – about Regulus.

But that flash of the past recollection had been new. He hadn't seen that memory nor experienced those thoughts during the hellish week when he his mind had been constantly assaulted, before Vagnarov constructed the block in his mind. Feeling a frisson of frantic alarm, Orion instantly concentrated to 'feel' his mind, and in a few seconds, he sensed it – the block was still holding. He inwardly sighed with relief. Though one thing was clear, even with the block, more memories could be triggered if he was in the same circumstances and surroundings as those of his past lifes. And he could only hope that the block would hold, no matter how often it happened.

"Come. The cave lies a little farther on."

Dumbledore beckoned Orion to the very edge of the rock where a series of jagged niches made footholds leading down to boulders that lay half-submerged in water and closer to the cliff. It was a treacherous descent and Dumbledore moved slowly. But so did Orion, since he could feel the potion-induced exhaustion creeping into his very bones. The lower rocks were slippery with seawater, and he trudged carefully, while he felt flecks of icy, salty water spraying his face.

"Lumos," said Dumbledore, as he reached the boulder closest to the cliff's face.

A thousand flecks of golden light sparkled upon the dark surface of the water a few feet below where he crouched; the black wall of rock beside him was illuminated too.

"You see?" said Dumbledore quietly, holding his wand a little higher. Orion saw a fissure in the cliff into which dark water was swirling. "You will not object to getting a little wet?"

"Not at all," replied Orion impassively.

Abruptly, the old wizard tapped his wand on Orion's head, before he said calmly, "There's no need for you to remain invisible. I doubt anyone's nearby. Now, let us take the plunge."

And with the sudden agility of a much younger man, Dumbledore slid from the boulder, landed in the sea, and began to swim, with a perfect breaststroke, toward the dark slit in the rock face, his lit wand held in his teeth. Orion briefly admired the old wizard's style and fearless attitude, before he checked himself, and took a leap forward. In a second, he plunged into icy water, and he hastily swam, reaching the old man with a few strokes. Orion's waterlogged clothes billowed around him and weighed him down, yet he moved his limbs quickly, to warm them and get rid of the cold numbness encroaching in his muscles.

Taking deep breaths that filled his nostrils with the tang of salt and seaweed, he struck out for the fissure in the cliff, which soon opened into a dark tunnel that Orion knew would be filled with water at high tide – it had been, that time, when he had been Regulus.

The slimy walls were barely three feet apart and glimmered like wet tar in the passing light of Dumbledore's wand. A little way in, the passageway curved to the left, and Orion saw that it extended far into the cliff. He continued to swim in Dumbledore's wake, not revealing that he 'remembered' the way, while the tips of his benumbed fingers brushed the rough, wet rock.

Then he saw Dumbledore rising out of the water ahead, his white-silver hair and dark robes gleaming. When Orion reached the spot, he found steps that led into the familiar, large cave. He clambered up them, water streaming from his soaking clothes, and emerged, swiftly casting a drying and warming charm on himself, before he could shiver due to the freezing air. Though, he purposely used his Phoenix wand. He had never showed his real wand – the Death and Life wand, as Gregorovitch had called it- to Dumbledore. And given Grindelwald's first reaction to it, he knew it was special and important, even though the old German wizard had never wanted to elucidate exactly why.

Dumbledore was standing in the middle of the cave, his wand –the Elder Wand- held high as he turned slowly on the spot, examining the walls and ceiling. "Yes, this is the place."

"How can you tell?" asked Orion, looking puzzled, though he knew how; he felt it on his skin, the nearness of powerful dark spells.

"It has known magic," said Dumbledore simply.

And Orion merely watched as the old wizard continued to revolve on the spot, evidently concentrating to find the entrance. Obviously, he wasn't going to enlighten Dumbledore. Furthermore, he was busy in feeling perfectly relaxed, knowing what lay ahead. He even remembered writing that small piece of parchment he had stuck into the fake locket. Therefore, all his concerns had faded away, because, thankfully, Dumbledore was simply searching for the wrong horcrux.

"This is merely the antechamber, the entrance hall," said Dumbledore after a moment or two. "We need to penetrate the inner place… Now it is Lord Voldemort's obstacles that stand in our way, rather than those nature made..."

The old wizard approached the wall of the cave and caressed it with his fingertips, murmuring words in a strange tongue that Orion recognized, though he barely knew two words of Gobbledegook. Nevertheless, he understood it, because Regulus had learned it, spurred by Walburga to learn the Goblin's language, as many pureblooded children did, in order to be able to conduct financial affairs with an advantage over less educated wizards. The realization, that he understood a language he had never learned in his present life, struck him hard. He had never fully pondered about what had seeped into his mind along with the recollections of past lifes. Certainly, he remembered and knew how to cast arcane spells he had used in previous lifes, but he had thought that he had learned from mere 'observation'. This, was a different case entirely – much more significant.

Twice Dumbledore walked right around the cave, touching as much of the rough rock as he could, occasionally pausing, running his fingers backward and forward over a particular spot, until finally he stopped, his hand pressed flat against the wall.

"Here," he said. "We go on through here. The entrance is concealed."

Dumbledore stepped back from the cave wall and pointed his wand at the rock. For a moment, an arched outline appeared there, blazing white as though there was a powerful light behind the crack. Abruptly, the outline disappeared, leaving the rock as bare and solid as ever, and the old wizard did not try any more magic, but simply stood there staring at it intently, as though something extremely interesting was written on it. Orion stayed quiet still; bored out of his mind and just wishing they would get the fake locket quickly, so that he could go back to Hogwarts, give Draco his 'chance' and finally duel Dumbledore and kill him.

He desperately wanted to feel the Elder Wand in his hands; to be done with his Hallow-quest, and thus be able to proceed into undergoing the VA test, at long last. Grindelwald was right, becoming the Vindico was merely the first step, and he wanted to accomplish it as soon as possible. He could straighten out many things once that was done; he would finally be able to fix matters with Voldemort by carefully revealing certain things.

Then, after two solid minutes, Dumbledore said quietly, "Oh, surely not. So crude."

Orion wanted nothing more than to snap impatiently, 'Yes, it's blood magic, of course!' What else could it have been? As if a powerful dark wizard like Voldemort would choose anything but blood magic, which was one of the strongest kinds of dark magic.

Instead, he settled for a politely puzzled, "What is it, sir?"

"I rather think," said Dumbledore, putting his hand inside his robes and drawing out a short silver knife, "that we are required to make payment to pass."

"Payment?" said Orion, pulling a befuddled expression over his features. "You've got to give the door something?"

"Yes," said Dumbledore. "Blood, if I am not much mistaken."

"Blood?" choked out Orion, seemingly appalled.

"I said it was crude," said Dumbledore, who sounded disdainful, even disappointed, as though Voldemort had fallen short of higher standards expected by the old wizard; and Orion had to swallow a snort. "The idea, as I am sure you will have gathered, is that your enemy must weaken him- or herself to enter. Once again, Lord Voldemort fails to grasp that there are much more terrible things than physical injury."

Orion inwardly rolled his eyes. The old man missed the point entirely. There wasn't a dark wizard or witch alive who would easily shed their blood. Dark wizards were nothing if not highly cautious and suspicious, and blood could be used for infinity of dark rituals aimed to injure or kill the victim whose blood is used. Indeed, even he -when Rabastan had used his dagger for a little bit of 'blood play'- had made sure that there wasn't a drop of his blood left on the dagger's blade. Therefore, given the Dark's deep-rooted reticence to shed their blood, by demanding this 'blood payment' Voldemort had insured that this obstacle would be one which would stop most dark wizards and witches. And the cunning wizard knew this all too well. Indeed, he wasn't going to spill a drop of his blood for this… No, Dumbledore would have to do it. He wondered if it would be difficult to surreptitiously convince him, and he had to play his part as well, so it could be tricky.

"Yeah, but still, if you can avoid it…" said Orion with studied hesitancy.

"Sometimes, however, it is unavoidable," said Dumbledore calmly, shaking back the sleeve of his robes and exposing a forearm.

"Sir!" protested Orion, playing his part and hurrying forward as Dumbledore raised his knife. "I'll do it, I'm younger."

But Dumbledore merely smiled and slashed down the knife, and Orion only made a gesture of trying to stop him. There was a flash of silver, and a spurt of scarlet; the rock face was peppered with dark, glistening drops. Then, Orion inwardly frowned – it had been too easy. And why wasn't Dumbledore concerned about using his own blood? Or, why didn't Dumbledore want to use his blood?

"You are very kind, Orion," said Dumbledore, now passing the tip of his wand over the deep cut he had made in his own arm, so that it healed instantly. "But your blood is worth more than mine. Ah, that seems to have done the trick, doesn't it?"

Orion nodded, while inwardly, his frown deepened further. What a strange thing for the old man to say: 'Your blood is worth more than mine…'

But before he had a chance to slyly prod about the meaning of those words, without revealing too much himself, the old wizard stepped forward. The blazing silver outline of an arch had appeared in the wall once more, and this time it did not fade away. The blood-spattered rock within it simply vanished, leaving an opening into what seemed total darkness.

"After me, I think," said Dumbledore, and he walked through the archway with Orion on his heels, lighting his own wand hastily as he went.

When they got through, they found themselves standing on the edge of a great black lake, so vast that Orion could not make out the distant banks, in a cavern so high that the ceiling too was out of sight. A misty greenish light shone far away in what looked like the middle of the lake; it was reflected in the completely still water below. The greenish glow and the light from the two wands were the only things that broke the otherwise velvety blackness, though their rays did not penetrate far. The darkness was denser than normal darkness.

Nevertheless, he recognized the greenish light – it was one more obstacle, the potion. But Regulus hadn't known what it was, though he had used the house-elf who had accompanied him, Kreacher's father, so that the creature drank the potion. The house-elf had been very old, about to die of natural causes anyway, and he had indeed died after drinking the potion. Now, Orion was curious to see the potion again, wondering if he would know what it was, since his schooling had been utterly Dark-oriented, unlike Regulus'.

"Let us walk," said Dumbledore quietly. "Be very careful not to step into the water. Stay close to me."

He set off around the edge of the lake, and Orion followed close behind him. Their footsteps made echoing, slapping sounds on the narrow rim of rock that surrounded the water. On and on they walked, but the view did not vary: on one side of them, the rough cavern wall, on the other, the boundless expanse of smooth, glassy blackness, in the very middle of which was the greenish glow. Orion found the familiar place fascinating, since he knew what lay underneath the surface of the lake. Regulus had found himself in a tight spot when the Inferi had tried to pull him into the water, before the wizard remembered that fire could be used to repel them. But Orion had better aces under his sleeve, and he hoped he would have a chance to try the Necromantic spell, since he had never encountered Inferi before and he was quite eager to test his abilities; without Dumbledore being aware, of course. Moreover, Inferi created by Voldemort would be a challenge; to see if he could command them with the use of his Necromantic abilities – he could, in theory, but he never had a chance to try it.

"I suppose the horcrux is there," said Orion, masking his excitement while he gestured at the distant green glow in the center of the lake.

"I believe so, as well," interjected Dumbledore quietly. "The question is, how do we get to it?"

"Well, I don't think a simple Summoning Charm would do the trick," said Orion, pulling a pensive expression over his features. "Surely Voldemort thought about that, and prepared a trap for anyone who tried an 'Accio'. On the other hand, Voldemort must have left a way for him to get to the middle of the lake. Perhaps we should look around, to discover it."

"My exact, same thoughts," said Dumbledore, shooting him a sharp glance over his shoulder, while he continued along. "I dare say that you've come to understand Voldemort's process of thought very well, my dear boy."

"I have to thank your lessons for that," interjected Orion, warmly smiling at the old wizard as he trailed after him. "It bodes well for us, doesn't it, given that we want to find and destroy all his horcruxes?"

"Indeed," said Dumbledore placidly, before he suddenly came to a halt. "Aha! Stand back against the wall, please; I think I have found the place."

Orion obeyed, knowing exactly what the old wizard had sensed and found. And he stood with an expectantly perplexed expression on his face, while the old man ran his hand through the thin air.

"Oho," said Dumbledore happily, seconds later. His hand had closed in midair upon something invisible.

Swiftly, the old wizard moved closer to the water, keeping his hand clenched in midair, while raising his wand with the other and tapping his fist with the point. Immediately, a thick coppery green chain appeared out of thin air, extending from the depths of the water into Dumbledore's clenched hand. And the old man tapped the chain, which began to slide through his fist like a snake, coiling itself on the ground with a clinking sound that echoed noisily off the rocky walls, pulling something from the depths of the black water – a boat, Orion knew, before it even broke through the surface, since he 'remembered'. Then, it appeared, tiny and glowing as green as the chain, floating with barely a ripple toward the place on the bank where they stood.

"How did you know that was there?" Orion asked, lacing his voice with astonishment.

"Magic always leaves traces," said Dumbledore, as the boat hit the bank with a gentle bump, "sometimes very distinctive traces. I taught Tom Riddle. I know his style."

Orion inwardly agreed with that. Dumbledore would indeed be dangerous for Voldemort's pieces of soul, if the wizard wouldn't be dying that night. It had taken him, Regulus, almost an hour before sensing the boat-enchantment, yet Dumbledore had found it in a few minutes. It was a real shame that he would end up killing such a powerful and sharp wizard. If only Grindelwald had managed to persuade Dumbledore to his side… Well, there was nothing that could be done about that now. Pity.

Shaking away from his musings, he looked down into the tiny boat, and said pensively, "It doesn't look like it was built for two people. Will it hold both of us? Will we be too heavy together?"

Dumbledore chuckled. "Voldemort will not have cared about the weight, but about the amount of magical power that crossed his lake. I rather think an enchantment has been placed upon this boat so that only one wizard at a time will be able to sail in it."

In a snap, Orion raised his head to gaze at him. He hadn't thought about that, but it sounded right. Regulus hadn't needed to worry about this matter; he had only been here with a house-elf. "So, then-"

"Well have to take it, one at a time," interjected Dumbledore calmly, intently gazing at him over his half-moon spectacles. "I think it's likely that your power will register, even compared to mine."

"Surely not," gasped out Orion, staring at him with wide eyes, though he felt a frisson of worry – just how powerful Dumbledore suspected him to be? "The potency of my magic cannot be compared to yours, sir. It surely pales in comparison, and isn't even detected by the enchantment-"

"I believe it is," interrupted Dumbledore, gently smiling at him. "Now, don't worry, my boy. I'll go first and send you the boat back, and I'll be watching to make sure that nothing happens to you." His gaze flickered briefly to the lake's surface. "I think danger might come to us if we disturb the water. You'll have to be mindful of that, but if anything occurs, I'll be ready to help you."

"Alright," said Orion, gazing at the water with an expression of wary fearfulness.

The old man patted his shoulder, before he carefully climbed into the boat and coiled the chain onto the floor. Orion observed silently as the boat began to move at once. Soon, there was no sound other than the silken rustle of the boat's prow cleaving the water, as it moved without Dumbledore's help, as though an invisible rope was pulling it onward toward the light in the center of the lake. And in a few more minutes, he distantly saw Dumbledore's figure leaving the tiny boat and stepping towards the green glow.

At last, the boat reached his shore, and Orion quickly and deftly got inside, before it moved, once again towards the middle of the lake. In moments, he could no longer see the walls of the cavern; he might have been at sea except that there were no waves. And when he looked down, as he had expected, he saw something else besides the reflected gold of his wandlight sparkling and glittering on the black water he passed. Marble-white limbs and faces were floating below the surface, creating a veritable lattice of corpses rotting in varying degrees. However, the Inferi were merely drifting peacefully under the lake's surface. Though, as had happened to Regulus, they would certainly become animated once they grabbed the horcrux. He surmised that it would happen in their case too, even if the locket was fake.

He lifted his head to look at the greenish glow towards which the boat was inexorably sailing, and soon, he reached it. Swiftly, he raised his illuminated wand and saw that the boat had come to a halt, bumping gently a small island of smooth rock, with Dumbledore standing right in front of him.

"Careful not to touch the water," said the old wizard, quite redundantly in Orion's opinion, while the man offered him his hand.

Orion nodded and grasped the proffered hand, to climb out of the boat and finally step on the island. Then, he glanced around, inspecting the surroundings which felt, again, familiar. The island was no larger than Dumbledore's office, an expanse of flat dark stone on which stood nothing but the source of that greenish light; a stone basin which was set on top of a pedestal. And side by side with Dumbledore, he looked down on it. The basin was full of an emerald liquid emitting that phosphorescent glow, but it was thanks to the smell that Orion recognized it – it was sweet, and honey-scented.

And he swallowed a gasp. Merlin's beard, this was a very dangerous potion indeed, with no antidote, and thus lethal in an hour. He remembered this potion clearly, since Master Kragen –Durmstrang's Potions professor- had once brewed it to show it to the class, so that they would learn how to recognize it. The potion was well beyond PRIME-level, thus, they hadn't been taught how to brew it, but they had learned everything else about it. Well, he was certainly not drinking it, and he didn't think that Dumbledore should either. He wanted to duel with the wizard in a fair match of powers, skills, and wits. Having the old coot agonizingly tormented and deliriously weakened wouldn't serve his purposes at all. He didn't want newspapers, and in the future textbooks, saying that he had defeated Dumbledore just because the old coot had already imbibed a lethal poison.

Orion side-glanced at the wizard, and asked quietly, "Do you know what it is?"

"I am not sure," replied Dumbledore tranquilly, gazing down at it with merely a slight frown on his forehead. "Something worrisome, surely."

The old man pushed back the sleeve of his robe, and stretched out the tips of his fingers toward the surface of the potion.

"Don't touch it!" snapped Orion, briskly slapping away the wizard's hand. "It will burn you!"

"I cannot touch," said Dumbledore, smiling faintly. "See? I cannot approach any nearer than this-"

"That's beside the point," bit out Orion crisply, piercing him with his eyes. "I know what it is. It's a very dark potion – the Tormentis Memoratum. It will scorch down the throat of the drinker and make him re-experience his worse memories, slowly poisoning him, till death, which approximately comes in an hour. Furthermore, the drinker will feel agonizing pain, while being lost in his own mind, without being aware of what is happening, and without being able to stop the influx of his most horrible memories. And it's worse than being affected by a Dementor because there's no Patronus Charm to save the day, and no chocolate to make you feel better afterwards!"

Dumbledore gazed at him with twinkling blue eyes, warmly smiling. "It's very noble of you to warn me about this potion, my dear boy."

"I'm not being noble, damn it!" spat Orion with angered annoyance. "I'm being practical. It's obvious that you think the horcrux is below the potion, but it certainly isn't worth poisoning ourselves. Let's go back to Hogwarts, and we can come back once we find a way to get rid of the potion-"

"You are a noble, young wizard, even if you don't like to admit it," interjected Dumbledore gently, his voice sounding amused while his eyes still twinkled, which tempted Orion to rip them out of their sockets. "And I'm certainly not suggesting that either you or I should drink it. I need to test it further."

Orion scoffed. "Go ahead, but I very much doubt that Voldemort would have it any other way. This potion is meant to be drunk by whoever wants to get hold of the horcrux, or by some other victim. He wouldn't be so stupid as to leave any other options."

"Possibly, but we'll have to check, regardless," said Dumbledore cheerfully, before he peered more closely into the basin, with a pensive expression on his face.

Soon, the old wizard was waving his wand in mid-air in complicated movements, sometimes even muttering spells, while other times he obviously used nonverbal ones. After a short while, he caressed his long, silver beard, and murmured musingly, "It cannot be penetrated by hand, Vanished, parted, scooped up, or siphoned away, nor can it be Transfigured, Charmed, or otherwise made to change its nature." Almost absentmindedly, Dumbledore raised his wand again, twirled it once in midair, and then caught the crystal goblet that he had conjured out of nowhere. "I can only conclude that this potion is supposed to be drunk."

Orion rolled his eyes, and snorted. "I told you so." Then, he narrowed his eyes at the goblet, and demanded sharply, "What do you intend to do with that?"

"Why, use it to drink the potion, of course," said Dumbledore placidly. "Only by drinking until I empty the basin will we be able to see what lies in its depths."

"Haven't you heard what I told you about the potion?" snapped Orion, darkly scowling at him. "It will kill you!"

Dumbledore beamed a smile. "I'm certain it won't. Don't worry about me, my dear boy."

Orion narrowed his eyes at him, before a realization struck him. Fawkes, of course! The potion had no antidote, but Phoenix's tears could cure someone poisoned by any potion, no matter how lethal, if it was drunk during a certain span of time. In this case, if the tears were swallowed before an hour passed after the potion was imbibed. It would save the old man's life. Nevertheless, it would render the old coot useless, certainly not fit to duel with not even an ant.

"Even if it doesn't kill you," he said crisply, glaring at him, "you'll be in unendurable pain, while experiencing your worst and most traumatizing memo-"

"Let me think," interrupted Dumbledore, raising his hand for silence, as he frowned slightly at the emerald liquid, his mind evidently working hard and fast.

"Undoubtedly," said the old wizard, finally, "given what you said, this potion will surely prevent me from taking the horcrux. It will probably create so much pain that I'll be distracted and rendered incapable, also probably causing me to forget what I am here for." He shot him a stern glance over his half-moon spectacles. "This being the case, Orion, it will be your job to make sure I keep drinking, even if you have to tip the potion into my protesting mouth. You understand?"

"It's you who seems to have not understood what I've been telling you," said Orion sharply, narrowing his eyes at him, and certainly not wanting to be cheated out from the duel he had expected to have with Dumbledore. "I won't let you drink it. We can come back some other day, to finish the job."

The old wizard did not speak, and their eyes met over the basin, each face lit with the green light which glowed from the potion.

"You remember," said Dumbledore sternly, "the condition on which I brought you with me?"

Orion's eyes narrowed to slits, and he replied crisply, "Yes."

"You swore, did you not, to follow any command I gave you?"

"Yes, but-"

"I warned you, did I not, that there might be danger?"

"Yes," said Orion, heatedly glaring at him, "but -"

"Well, then," said Dumbledore placidly, shaking back his sleeves once more and raising the empty goblet, "you have my orders."

"Why can't I drink the potion instead?" asked Orion, smirking at him. "Surely, I can do it as well. And if I refuse, then so should-"

"You can't drink it because I am much older," interrupted Dumbledore with a smile, "much cleverer, and much less valuable."

Orion snorted, and said tartly, "Older, certainly. Cleverer, that's a matter of opinion, old man. As for less valuable…" He narrowed his eyes at him. "You only say that because I'm the one who can kill Voldemort, since according to the prophecy I have 'power the Dark Lord knows not'."

"I do not measure your value in those terms, my dear boy," interjected Dumbledore calmly. "It is our choices, Orion, that show our worth, far more than our abilities and powers. And I have faith in you; that you'll make the right decisions." He pierced him with his blue eyes, and demanded sternly, "Now tell me, once and for all, do I have your word that you will do everything in your power to make me keep drinking?"

Orion scowled at him, and inwardly grumbled with irritation and angered disappointment. He wouldn't have his magnificent duel against Dumbledore… And he had yearned for it during a very long time... Damn it, he had counted on it! Nevertheless, it was clear to him that he still had to obtain the Elder Wand that night. All he could do was make sure that Dumbledore drank Fawkes' tears as soon as possible, so that the old coot could recover enough to stand in a duel, even if it wouldn't be as challenging as he had hoped. Yes, the whole matter was a crushing disappointment, but if the old fool wanted to take the bloody potion, then he would 'help' him along. He could use this for his benefit, after all.

"Fine," he said dryly, "you have my word."

"Excellent," said Dumbledore contently, while a placid smile spread on his lips.

Then, the old wizard swiftly lowered the crystal goblet into the potion, and it sank into the surface as nothing else had. When the glass was full to the brim, Dumbledore lifted it to his mouth. "To your good health, Orion."

One of Orion's eyebrows twitched with annoyance, before he expectantly observed how the old man drained the goblet.

"How do you feel?" he asked with curiosity, as Dumbledore lowered the empty glass.

The old wizard shook his head, his eyes closed, and Orion wondered whether he was already in pain. Dumbledore plunged the glass blindly back into the basin, refilled it, and drank once more. In silence, Dumbledore drank three gobletsful of the potion. Then, halfway through the fourth goblet, he staggered and fell forward against the basin. His eyes were still closed, his breathing heavy.

"Dumbledore?" said Orion impassively. "Can you hear me?"

But the old man did not answer, and Orion observed him coolly. His face was twitching as though he was deeply asleep, but dreaming a horrible dream. His grip on the goblet was slackening; the potion was about to spill from it. Orion reached forward and grasped the crystal cup, holding it steady.

"Professor, can you hear me?" he repeated loudly, his voice echoing around the cavern.

Dumbledore panted and then spoke in a voice Orion did not recognize, for he had never heard Dumbledore frightened like this. "I don't want... Don't make me…"

Orion stared into the whitened face he knew so well, at the crooked nose and half-moon spectacles, and inwardly sighed with irritation. The old fool had brought this upon himself.

"…don't like… want to stop…" moaned Dumbledore.

"You can't stop," said Orion sternly. "You've got to keep drinking, remember? You told me you had to keep drinking. Here…"

And swiftly, without feeling a twinge of compunction, he forced the goblet back toward Dumbledore's mouth and tipped it, so that the old wizard drank the remainder of the potion inside.

"No..." groaned Dumbledore, as Orion lowered the goblet back into the basin and refilled it for him. "I don't want to... I don't want to… Let me go…"

"It's all right, sir," said Orion, turning his voice gentle, switching tactics. "It's all right, you need to take more…"

"Make it stop, make it stop," moaned Dumbledore.

"Yes, this'll make it stop," said Orion soothingly. He tipped the contents of the goblet into Dumbledore's open mouth.

And abruptly, the old man screamed; the noise echoed all around the vast chamber, across the dead black water.

"No, no, no, no, I can't, I can't, don't make me, I don't warn to..."

"It's all right, sir, it's all right," murmured Orion, his hands steady while he scooped up the sixth gobletful of potion; the basin was now half empty.

All the while, he could only think that the sooner the old man got delirious the better. There were quite a few things that he could find out. Moreover, he needed to grasp the locket and covertly rip out the piece of parchment inside before the old wizard could see it. He didn't want Dumbledore to know straight away that the locket was fake, and even less that Regulus Black had taken the original horcrux. Given Dumbledore's sharp mind, the old man would surely piece it together and suspect that Regulus had stashed the real horcrux in Grimmauld Place, and that he had later found it when he was ten-years-old, after Sirius had found him escaping from the Dursleys. And the last thing he wanted was for Dumbledore to know that he had known Tom Riddle since so long. Despite that he was going to kill the old man that night, he wanted the wizard to know as less as possible.

"You're safe, I'll take care of you - now drink this, it will help you..."

And obediently, Dumbledore drank, as though it was an antidote Orion offered him, but upon draining the goblet, he sank to his knees, shaking uncontrollably.

"It's all my fault, all my fault," sobbed the old man. "Please make it stop, I know I did wrong, oh please make it stop and I'll never, never again..."

"This will make it stop," Orion said calmly, as he tipped the seventh glass of potion into the wizard's mouth.

Dumbledore began to cower as though invisible torturers surrounded him; his flailing hand almost knocked the refilled goblet from Orion's firm hands as he moaned, "Don't hurt them, don't hurt them, please, please, it's my fault, hurt me instead..."

"Don't hurt who?" asked Orion softly, deeming that the time was right to get his answers, while he pried open the old man's mouth and made him drink more.

"Ariana!" cried Dumbledore, before he shook from head to foot and fell forward, screaming and hammering his fists upon the ground, while Orion filled the ninth goblet.

"Please, please, please, no... not that, not that, I'll do anything ..."

"Just drink, sir, just drink…"

Dumbledore drank like a child dying of thirst, but when he had finished, he yelled again as though his insides were on fire. "No more, please, no more ..." Then he sobbed piteously, "Ariana… Aberforth… Please, don't hurt them…"

"I won't," murmured Orion, while he scooped up a tenth gobletful of potion and felt the crystal scrape the bottom of the basin. "Only one more, sir. Drink this, drink it..."

He kneeled on the floor, sitting down on his haunches, and placed the old man's head on his lap, while he made him drain the last part. The instant he drank, Dumbledore began to scream in more anguish than ever, "I want to die! I want to die! Make it stop, make it stop, I want to die – KILL ME!"

Orion grasped the man's face, gazing at the eyelids scrunched in agony, and he whispered, "I will, soon." Then he gently caressed a silver lock of hair away from Dumbledore's sweaty face, and asked in a soothing tone of voice, "Tell me about Ariana."

"Ariana… mother… Abe!" cried Dumbledore, shaking his head jerkily. "Please… no, my fault!… Gellert…"

"Hush, it was no one's fault," said Orion, caressing the old man's drenched hair. "Not Gellert's, not yours… But tell me, tell me about Ariana's baby… he must have been a beautiful baby boy, yes? Perhaps with Ariana's golden locks, with her blue eyes, like yours?"

"Hyperion…" sobbed Dumbledore, his body spasming in pain, as his light blue eyes opened, dilated and clouded. "Forgive me… my fault…"

Orion's emerald eyes sparkled in triumph, and he pressed on gently, "Hyperion? Such a fitting wizarding name, very beautiful… What's his full name – Albus?"

"Gellert?" mumbled Dumbledore, gazing up at him with unfocused eyes, brimming with tears, yet the eyes feverishly gazed over Orion's features.

Orion slightly frowned, before he nodded and said softly, while caressing the old man's face, "Yes, Albus, it's me… Tell me about Hyperion… We can help him, tell me more…What's his full name?"

"Hyperion… Hyperion Dionysius…"

"That's a middle name, Albus-"

"Gellert!" suddenly cried Dumbledore, grasping Orion's hand in a painful grip, while he rose his head with difficulty, his gaze fogged and trying to focus on Orion's face, unsuccessfully, as his tears finally rolled down his aged cheeks. "Please… please, listen, I-"

Abruptly, he let out a piercing scream of pain and doubled over, landing face-first on the stone floor, his body lying unmoving. Slightly alarmed, Orion rolled the old man on his back, and instantly aimed his wand at him. "Ennervate!"

But when the red light struck the old man's chest, nothing happened. Dumbledore still had his mouth agape, his eyes closed, with his glasses askew.

Cursing under his breath, Orion seized the goblet he had dropped and jabbed it with his wand. "Aguamenti!"

It filled with clear water, but the moment he pressed the goblet's brim to Dumbledore's lips, the water disappeared. It was as he had expected; Voldemort wouldn't have allowed such comfort to be possible for the potion's victim. Abruptly, he heard a fluttering sound, and he snapped his head around, his eyes scanning the lake and his surroundings. But nothing moved. With a frown on his face, he leapt to his feet, about to approach the lake to take some water, knowing he would have to instantly defend them against the Inferi. But he halted in his tracks when his cursory glance caught sight of something.

He gasped, and his jaw hung agape, when he sprung forward and gazed at the empty basin. It was empty –completely; from both potion and locket. It couldn't be possible, just a few moments ago, when he had scooped up the last gobletful of potion, he had fleetingly seen a golden locket curled in the depths of the empty basin. With wide eyes, he frantically glanced around, tightly clutching his wand, tense and alert. But nothing stirred, not even the lake's surface rippled.

Completely befuddled, and highly worried, he glanced down at the empty basin again. It wasn't possible. No one besides them was there; no one knew they were there either! He didn't understand-

A pitiful moan resounded through the cave, and his gaze snapped down, grimacing when he saw Dumbledore's state. Forcibly calming down his wildly spinning mind, he concentrated on what mattered most at present – keeping the old coot alive long enough for Draco to have his 'chance' and for him to kill him afterwards, to finally obtain the Elder Wand and fulfill the Unbreakable Vow. He would think about the mysterious and perplexing sudden disappearance of the fake locket, afterwards.

While Dumbledore rolled to his side, drawing great, rattling breaths which sounded agonizing, Orion moved into action, and swiftly crouched on the edge of the rocky island and plunged the goblet into the lake – just what Voldemort intended an idiot to do, he knew. Then, quickly, for he realized he had mere minutes before the Inferi sprung forth, he brought the goblet -full to the brim with icy water- to Dumbledore.

"Sir, you must drink this, it will help!" he snapped urgently.

Dumbledore's eyelids flickered, and the old man croaked, "Water?"

"Yes, yes," said Orion hastily, carefully pressing the goblet's brim to the wizard's parted and parched lips.

The old man gulped it down with great difficulty, groaning, and Orion plunged the goblet into the lake again, swiftly making Dumbledore drain it once more.

Then, he dropped the goblet and stood up, tensely but also feeling a rush of excitement. He spread one hand forward, just at the same time in which a slimy white hand abruptly shot from the lake, tightly grasping his ankle, forcibly pulling him towards the rippling water. An eager grin spread over Orion's face, when he saw the once mirror-smooth lake churning, white heads and hands emerging from the dark water; men, women and children, with sunken and sightless eyes, and rotting flesh, moving toward the rock - an army of the dead rising before his eyes.

Briefly, he side-glanced at Dumbledore, seeing that the man was once more unaware of what was going on around him, and knowing that the old wizard wouldn't remember what he did now, just like he wouldn't remember the questions he had made about Ariana's son.

Suddenly, the white hand pulled him more energetically towards the lake, and Orion shot it with a spurt of wandless 'Flameo' making the hand hastily retreat, before he briefly closed his eyes and swiftly made his Necromantic powers encompass him.

Then, he opened all-black glowing eyes, and spread the fingers of his raised hand, as he yelled exultantly, "Domino necrocorpus!"

A glowing mist of blackness rushed from his palm, and quickly seemed to flutter down his surroundings, like a breezy veil caressing down the rotting bodies of the Inferi. The change in them was instantaneous. They no longer single-minded moved to crowd him and Dumbledore, to take them into the lake's depths and drown them. Instead, they had all halted, their arms limp by their sides, their frosted eyes upon him, blank. Many had already climbed onto the rock, their bony hands now still as they stopped clawing the slippery surface.

Knowing that he had them under his complete control, he felt a thrilling rush of smugness and satisfaction, and widely smirking, he said calmly, "Once we are in the boat, carry it upon your shoulders and help us make our way back."

The Inferi didn't move, but he knew they would do just as he had commanded. Thus, he quickly aimed his wand at Dumbledore, and snapped, "Stupefy!"

Once the old man lost consciousness, he carefully lifted him up in his arms and climbed inside the small boat, soon settling the wizard behind him. Suddenly, as he had counted on, the boat was raised a few inches from the water, and he glanced down to see some Inferi clutching the sides and the bottom of the boat, moving slowly through the water. Soon, more came towards the boat, rippling through the surface of the lake, their rags sodden and their faces icy and blank. When one of them crumbled, another was there to occupy his or her place. And despite Voldemort's enchantment, since the boat wasn't sailing along the water but hefted in the air, there weren't any incidents in their brief journey towards the bank of the lake.

Finally, their shrunken hands settled the boat on the shore, before they backed away. Orion lifted Dumbledore in his arms, and stepped onto the rocky bank. He briefly glanced at the unmoving Inferi, and said commandingly, "Continue being the guardians of this lake."

Swiftly, he made his Necromantic powers settle calmly inside him, and he knew that his eyes returned to normal and that his control over the Inferi had ended. He saw them simply sinking into the black water once again, silently and expressionless.

He leaned the stupefied wizard against the cavern wall, and aiming at the old man's chest, he said quietly, "Enervate."

With a shuddered intake of breath, Dumbledore's eyes slowly opened with difficulty, and he murmured with a faint voice, "What happened… where? The horcrux?"

"You fainted, sir. And we're still inside the cave," replied Orion quietly, thinking fast about what he was going to tell the old man. "There wasn't any horcrux inside the basin. And Inferi attacked us after I gave you some of the lake's water. But everything is fine now, sir. I used fire against them, and they are back in the lake."

"There wasn't a horcrux?" croaked Dumbledore, his feverish and pained gaze landing on Orion's face.

"No," replied Orion simply.

Dumbledore closed his eyes, and remained silent for a brief stretch of time, before he whispered faintly and haggardly, "I am weak…"

"As was to be expected after drinking the bloody potion," interjected Orion sharply. He heaved in a sigh, and said more gently, as he eyed the wizard's extreme pallor and air of pained exhaustion, "Don't worry, sir, I'll get us back. Here, I'll carry you."

He swiftly pulled one of Dumbledore's arm around his shoulders, and wrapped one arm around the wizard's torso, and another under the back of the man's knees. With a grunt, for he was feeling physically exhausted as well, he lifted the old man in his arms, once more, and made his way out the cavern.

"The protection was… after all... well-designed," said Dumbledore faintly, his voice slurred. "One alone could not have done it... You did well, very well, Orion... We didn't fail – at least we know a horcrux is not here… we'll keep looking…"

"Don't talk now," said Orion shortly, in between panted breaths. "Save your energy - we'll soon be out of here."

"The archway will have sealed again… My knife..." '

"Yes," said Orion, and he was about to lean the old man against the cavernous wall, to grasp the knife and pinch one of the wizard's fingers, when he saw that the stones were still shifted to a side – the archway was still open, or someone had reopened it on their way back.

A deep frown spread on Orion's forehead. There had been someone else inside, the same person who took the fake locket. But how? He hadn't sensed anyone. Even if someone had gotten inside under a Disillusionment Charm, he would have seen through the Charm, and he would have sensed the person's magical core as well… He didn't like this at all. It was alarming and perplexing. However, he had to get moving, Dumbledore wasn't looking well at all, and he needed to get him back; Draco was waiting.

Without a word, he went through the archway, still carrying Dumbledore, who thankfully had his eyes closed, seemingly too pained to be aware of what was happening. He crossed the outer cave, and Orion helped Dumbledore back into the icy seawater that filled the crevice in the cliff.

"It's going to be all right, sir," panted out Orion laboriously, as he started swimming with one arm draped around the wizard's chest, helping him swim along, dragging him through the icy waves. "We're nearly there... I can apparate us both back... Don't worry…"

"I am not worried, Orion," said Dumbledore, his voice a little stronger despite the freezing water and his weak armstrokes. "I am with you."

Orion shot him a glance and frowned. Who did the old wizard believe he was speaking to? Those psychological manipulations wouldn't work on him! Though, it could be that the old man was still delirious. Or perhaps not; perhaps the man truly meant it - believed it.

"You're a fool, Albus Dumbledore," he whispered inaudibly, shaking his head, as he continued swimming and dragging the old man.


Once back under the starry sky, Orion heaved Dumbledore on to the top of the nearest boulder and then to his feet. Sodden and shivering, with Dumbledore's weight still upon him, he swiftly casted on them drying and warming charms. Then, he concentrated and pictured clearly their destination: Hogsmeade. Closing his eyes, gripping Dumbledore's arm as tightly as he could, he stepped forwards into that feeling of uncomfortable compression.

He knew it had worked before he opened his eyes: the smell of salt, the sea breeze had gone. He and Dumbledore were finally in the middle of the dark High Street in Hogsmeade. Everything was still, the darkness complete but for a few streetlamps and lit upper windows.

"We're back," panted out Orion, his limbs stiff and aching, feeling utterly exhausted.

Though, he caught the old wizard when the man abruptly staggered against him. Seeing that Dumbledore wasn't aware of much at present, he swiftly whipped out his Phoenix wand, and whispered hastily, "Patronus Messagum!"

Instantly, glowing shapes flowed from his wand; the Phoenix and the Basilisk, his own Patroni even though he wasn't using the Death and Life wand, which had, as double core, basilisk poison and phoenix tears. He chose the Basilisk, and silently thought the message he wanted to give Severus. He chose the Basilisk purposely, for when his guardian had taught him that spell, the sour man had sneered at the Phoenix -deeming it utterly Gryffindorish and Lightish- and also jeering at his incapability of just summoning one of the Patroni and not both; he was still working on that.

Finally, the glowing Basilisk quickly slithered through the air, and he knew the patronus would soon be passing through Hogwarts' walls, and into Severus' private quarters, where the wizard undoubtedly was this late at night. And then, the message would be delivered in his own voice. It was simple, he just told Severus that Draco had finished fixing the cabinet, that Death Eaters were surely already inside the school, and that he had Dumbledore with him, in a weakened condition. He left the decision about what to do, to Severus. Though he was certain that his guardian would be up in his feet and rushing to look for them, as soon as he heard the message. And, unused, he recalled the Phoenix patronus, which pleasantly plunged into him, disappearing.

Suddenly, he felt something sliding from his arm, and he didn't react quickly enough to stop Dumbledore from sinking to the ground.

He grasped the old wizard's crumbled shoulder, and leaned down to gaze at the pale face. "We need to get you to the school. Why don't you call Fawkes? You intended to drink his tears, right?"

"It's not necessary, it is… Professor Snape whom I need," said Dumbledore weakly, the corners of his mouth twitching. "That potion was… no health drink…"

"Snape?" interjected Orion with a frown. "There's nothing he can concoct quickly enough, and the potion has no antidote – I told you that. Fawkes-"

"Professor Snape first," interrupted Dumbledore hastily, his voice getting stronger. "I'll have Fawkes' tears after I've seen Severus. By my calculations, I drank the potion only thirty minutes ago, I have time and there are more pressing matters."

"Fine," said Orion impatiently, "then let's get you back to Hogwarts." He glanced around, and muttered, "I can ask Madam Rosmerta for help, we could floo from her pub-"

"No, I don't want anyone to know," said Dumbledore clearly. "Severus… I only need Severus... but I do not think... I can walk very far just yet..."

Orion suppressed his irritation, for he wanted to let Romerta know that they were back, who would undoubtedly alert Draco. He couldn't use the two-way mirror right now, not with Dumbledore suddenly being fully-aware, once again.

He aimed his wand at the old wizard, and said coolly, "All right then, Snape. Now, I'll just cast a hovering charm on you-"

Before Orion could make a move, however, he heard running footsteps. His heart leapt, as he felt a frisson of alarm: somebody had seen, somebody knew the old coot needed help… But he sighed in relief when he looked around and saw Madam Rosmerta scurrying down the dark street towards them on high-heeled, fluffy slippers, wearing a silk dressing-gown embroidered with dragons. She was a Merlin-sent, though it was clear that she had been spying to know when they returned.

"I saw you apparate as I was pulling my bedroom curtains! Thank goodness, thank goodness, I couldn't think what to - but what's wrong with Albus?"

She came to a halt, panting, and stared down, wide-eyed, at Dumbledore.

"He's hurt," said Orion hastily, since he simply wanted to find Draco and be done with the whole matter, the sooner he killed the old wizard the better. "Madam Rosmerta, can we come into the Three Broomsticks and use your floo to reach Hogwarts faster?"

"You can't go to the school, not with Albus like this! Don't you realize – haven't you seen -?"

"What has happened?" asked Dumbledore instantly, all concerns about being seen in that state having seemingly disappeared. "Rosmerta, what's wrong?"

"The Dark Mark, Albus," gravely replied the curvacious witch.

And she pointed into the sky, in the direction of Hogwarts. Orion swiftly turned and looked up. There it was, hanging in the sky above the school: the blazing green skull with a serpent tongue, the mark Death Eaters left behind whenever they had entered a building... wherever they had murdered... He inwardly cursed. He had told Draco to keep still until they got back! And the Death Eaters were already attacking? Though, given that Rosmerta had made them notice the Mark, it was probably a ruse to get Dumbledore there… And the Mark was right above the Astronomy Tower… Suddenly, Orion deeply frowned – a Tower, Trelawney's vague warning… Well, he would be on his guard, but the Astronomy Tower was certainly where Draco wanted Dumbledore and him to go.

"When did it appear?" asked Dumbledore urgently, and his hand clenched painfully upon Orion's shoulder as he struggled to his feet.

"Must have been minutes ago, it wasn't there when I put the cat out, but when I got upstairs -"

"We need to return to the castle at once," said Dumbledore. "Rosmerta," and though he staggered a little, he seemed wholly in command of the situation, "we need transport - brooms -"

"I've got a couple behind the bar," she said, looking very frightened. "Shall I run and fetch -?"

"No, Orion can do it."

Well, finally the old man wanted to get hasty; perfect for him. He nodded, and raised his wand at once. "Accio Rosmerta's brooms!"

A second later they heard a loud bang as the front door of the pub burst open; two brooms had shot out into the street and were racing each other to Orion's side, where they stopped dead, quivering slightly, at waist height.

"Rosmerta, please send a message to the Ministry," said Dumbledore, as he mounted the broom nearest him. "It might be that nobody within Hogwarts has yet realized anything is wrong..."

Then, the old wizard tapped his wand on Orion's head, and Orion felt as if an egg had been split open, soon seeing his body shimmering under the Disillusionment Charm. Not particularly caring about it, he swiftly mounted the broom; Madam Rosmerta was already tottering back towards her pub as Dumbledore and he kicked off from the ground and rose up into the air. As they sped towards the castle, Orion glanced sideways at Dumbledore, seeing that the old man seemed reenergized. The sight of the Dark Mark seemed to have acted upon Dumbledore like a stimulant: he was bent low over his broom, his eyes fixed upon the Mark, his long silver hair and beard flying behind him in the night air.

He lagged a bit behind, and quickly snatched out the two-way mirror from his robes' pocket, and whispered quietly, "Draco?"

The smooth surface rippled, and he soon saw the reflection of his friend's face, who looked nervous and agitated. "Merlin's staff, you're finally back… Took you long enough-"

"Yes," interrupted Orion in a low murmur, his voice pressing. "Look, we're going to reach the Astronomy Tower in a few minutes. So get there, if you aren't already." He briefly frowned down at the mirror, before steadying his gaze to make sure he flew following Dumbledore, and asked sharply, "What have the Death Eaters done? Have they killed-"

"I'll be right there!" snapped Draco hastily, his image disappearing from the mirror.

Orion grumbled, and pocketed the two-way mirror, latching his hand on the broom's handle, above the other hand which had been already directing it. As they flew over the dark, twisting lane down which they had walked earlier, he heard, over the whistling of the night air in his ears, Dumbledore muttering in some strange language. He understood why as he felt his broom shudder for a moment when they flew over the boundary wall into the grounds: Dumbledore was undoing the enchantments he himself had set around the castle, so that they could enter at speed. The Dark Mark was still glittering directly above the Astronomy Tower, the highest of the castle.

But it was something else which caught his attention; as he glanced down, he saw small shimmering bodies, running along the outer walls of Hogwarts – Disillusioned people he could see since he had become powerful enough, ever since his 'breakthrough' during his lesson with Grindelwald, months ago… And he gasped, remembering that there had been Aurors stationed there, on the look-out if Voldemort someday decided to attack the school. Something that Scrimgeour had conceded to Dumbledore. He had forgotten about them, but it was clear that they had seen the Dark Mark that had been casted a few minutes ago, according to Rosmerta. They were probably waiting for reinforcements before barging into Hogwarts, knowing they would be battling Death Eaters. Merlin's beard, nothing would go smoothly. And he hoped Draco had considered the Aurors in his plans, he had told the boy about them. Rosmerta surely wasn't going to alert the Ministry, as Dumbledore had asked, but the Aurors here, at present, certainly had already. Not to mention the Order of the Phoenix, who had members within the Auror Force – Shacklebot and the retired Moody, for instance. Yes, all of them would soon drop in… There was going to be a fierce and messy battle tonight… And he had his own tasks to accomplish…

He broke from his musings - knowing that he had endured and succeeded in worse situations - when he saw Dumbledore crossing the crenellated ramparts and dismounting. Orion rushed his broom forward, and swiftly landed next to him seconds later. He instantly gazed around. There was no one there. The ramparts were deserted. The door to the spiral staircase that led back into the castle was closed. There was no sign of a struggle, of a fight to the death, or of a body.

He looked up at the green skull with its serpent's tongue sliding and coiling out above them, and a shiver ran down his spine. It was beautiful, glowing green in the star-strewn skies; Voldemort's mark. It had been ages since he had seen it, and over two months since he had seen the wizard himself… Would he be seeing him that night? Suddenly, he hoped so, but in what circumstances would it be? And more importantly, would he feel nothing for the man, as he partially wished… Though, he knew, deep inside, that despite everything, despite hating him as much as he loved him, he would still 'feel' something for the bloody wizard. Voldemort wasn't someone easily forgotten. And just because of that, he wasn't looking forward to seeing him again. He had done very well for himself, these past months, by pushing to a side all thoughts about the wizard. And he wanted to remain unaffected. Though, he would have to see the wizard sooner or later, given his wish to participate in Dark Allies Meetings from now on, since he wasn't planning on coursing his seventh year.

"Go and wake Professor Snape," said Dumbledore faintly but clearly. "Tell him what has happened and bring him to me. Do nothing else, speak to nobody else and do not remove your Dissillusionment Charm. I shall wait here."

Orion didn't move an inch, though he hesitated. Severus already knew, and the wizard was undoubtedly looking for them at present. Moreover, he wanted to wait for Draco and the Death Eaters.

Finally, he sighed, and started quietly, "But -"

"You swore to obey me, Orion - go!" interrupted Dumbledore, his voice suddenly loud and stern.

Orion slowly went over to the door leading to the spiral staircase, bidding time, and out of excuses. His hand had only just closed upon the iron ring of the door when he heard running footsteps on the other side. He inwardly yelled with relief, and immediately turned round to glance at Dumbledore, who gestured to him to retreat. Orion backed away, drawing his wand as he did so, ready to fully help Draco when the boy came in.

The door burst open and somebody erupted through it, and shouted, "Expelliarmus!"

Abruptly, before he could even blink, Orion found his body instantly rigid and immobile, his mouth had shut close in a volition of its own, and he felt himself fall back against the Tower wall, propped like an unsteady statue, unable to move or speak. Dumbledore had done this! He wildly spurred his magic inside him to break free, but he halted when he saw, by the light of the Mark, how Dumbledore's wand flew in an arc over the edge of the ramparts. And his eyes widened frantically – the Elder Wand had just flown over! That wasn't all, the old coot had wordlessly immobilized him, and the second he had taken to perform the spells had cost him the chance of defending himself – not that Orion cared about that, but he greatly cared about who had just disarmed the old fool; Draco. He inwardly groaned. Dumbledore wasn't the Elder Wand's master anymore – Draco was, therefore he would have to duel Draco… Merlin's staff, but he couldn't hurt his friend, and what was more, he was still going to duel and kill the old man. Nothing would change his mind on that subject. He wanted Dumbledore gone; even if he understood the man better and even if he admitted that the old wizard had some redeeming qualities. He certainly understood why Gellert had loved him; Dumbledore was powerful, clever, highly educated, knowledgeable, and cunning. And the wizard must have been even more magnificent when he was younger. But still, the Leader of the Light had to be killed.

Orion's attention snapped to the wizards, when Dumbledore said pleasantly, "Good evening, Draco."

Standing against the ramparts, very white in the face, Dumbledore still showed no sign of panic or distress. He was merely gazing across at his disarmer.

Draco stepped forwards, quickly glancing around. His silvery eyes fell upon the second broom, then around the place, and Orion knew that the young wizard was looking for him. "Who else is here?"

"A question I might ask you. Or are you acting alone?"

In the greenish glow of the Mark, Orion saw Draco's mercurial gaze shift back to Dumbledore. And he wondered why he wasn't snapping out from the spells the old wizard had casted on him, but he knew. In truth, he wanted to see what Draco would do. Though, he would interfere if matters got out of hand, since he had an Unbreakable Vow to fulfill and since he wanted to be the one to kill the old man.

"No," said Draco firmly. "I've got back-up. There are Death Eaters here in your school tonight."

"Well, well," said Dumbledore, as though he was being shown an ambitious homework project. "Very good indeed. You found a way to let them in, did you?"

"Yeah," replied Draco, widely smirking. "Right under your nose and you never realized!"

"Ingenious," said Dumbledore. "Yet, forgive me, where are they now? You seem unsupported."

"They met some of your guard – the Order," snapped Draco bitingly. "They're having a fight down below. They won't be long... I came on ahead. I… I've got a job to do."

"Well, then, you must get on and do it, my dear boy," said Dumbledore softly.

There was silence. Orion still allowed himself to be imprisoned within his own invisible, paralyzed body, staring at the two of them, his ears straining to hear sounds of the Death Eaters' distant fight, and in front of him, Draco did nothing but stare at Albus Dumbledore who smiled.

"Draco, Draco, you are not a killer."

"How do you know?" snapped Draco at once, though Orion noticed that the boy's voice slightly faltered, and then the young wizard flushed, probably because he had sounded a bit childish and uncertain.

"You don't know what I'm capable of," said Draco more forcefully, when Dumbledore remained silent, "you don't know what I've done!"

"Oh, yes, I do," said Dumbledore mildly. "You almost killed Katie Bell. You have been trying to kill me all year. Forgive me, Draco, but the attempt had been feeble... so feeble, to be honest, that I wonder whether your heart has been really in it... And also, it's quite remarkable how you only tried once, with the opal necklace."

"My attempts aren't feeble anymore!" interjected Draco vehemently. "I've been working all year, just for tonight to happen, and now-"

Suddenly, somewhere in the depths of the castle below Orion heard a muffled yell. Draco stiffened and glanced over his shoulder. And it was then when Orion finally realized that if the Order was battling the Death Eaters, it could also mean that Sirius – that his father was with the Order as well, since he had sent the man to become one of them, in order to spy. Thus, he quickly moved into action, spurring his dark magic inside him, while the other two wizards kept talking, Dumbledore pleasantly, and Draco increasingly more nervous.

"I haven't got any options!!" was saying Draco loudly, just as Orion managed to wandlessly cancel one of the spells casted on him, now being able to talk, though he remained invisible and immobilized. "I've got to kill you or he'll kill me! He'll kill my whole family!"

"I appreciate the difficulty of your position," said Dumbledore. "Why else do you think I have not confronted you before now? Because I knew that you would have been murdered if Lord Voldemort realized that I suspected you. I did not dare speak to you of the mission with which I knew you had been entrusted, in case he used Legilimency against you. But now at last we can speak plainly to each other... no harm has been done, you have hurt nobody, though you are very lucky that your unintentional victims survived... I can help you, Draco."

"No, you can"t," said Draco, his face pale and with wand hand shaking very badly. He looked as though he was fighting down the urge to shout, or to vomit. And he gulped and took several deep breaths, before he continued, "Nobody can. He told me to do it or he'll kill me. I've got no choice."

"Yes, you do," said Dumbledore, and Orion saw the old man's feet slide a little on the floor as the wizard struggled to remain upright, just when he finally removed the second spell on him.

Now his body was visible, though none of them had yet noticed, but he couldn't move still, and he put more effort on it, becoming frantic. The old man had certainly casted very strong spells on him, and his own exhaustion didn't help matters – damn the potion he had been taking daily, he was going off it as soon as he could.

"Come over to the right side, Draco, and we can hide you more completely than you can possibly imagine. What is more, I can send members of the Order to your mother tonight to hide her likewise. And I know your father isn't in Azkaban anymore. We'll do our best to pull him out from Voldemort's grasp, and we can protect him too... come over to the right side, Draco... you are not a killer..."

Draco stared at Dumbledore, and his mouth contorted involuntarily, as though he had tasted something very bitter. And just when Orion thought the conversation was turning dangerous, since he saw Draco considering what Dumbledore offered, he finally managed to cancel the last spell, at last being able to move. As soon as he took a faltering step forward, there was a bang and shouts from below, louder than ever; it sounded as though people were fighting on the actual spiral staircase that led to where they stood. With his heart pounding fast inside his chest, worried about his father, Orion straightened his shoulders and firmly stepped forward, into the green light casted by the Dark Mark. Swiftly, he grasped Draco's shoulder, and the young wizard swirled around, wand aimed forward, startled and about to bellow a curse.

"It's just me," muttered Orion tiredly, his gaze fixed on Dumbledore, who was now unsteadily leaning on the rampart of the Tower, looking weaker.

"Where the bloody hell where you?!" snapped Draco, though he certainly looked relieved and more self-confident.

"Ah, I see," murmured Dumbledore, gazing at them with a small smile. "You're truly close friends, as I suspected. My dear boys, despite your attempts to show yourselves as enemies, you weren't successful in masking your true sentiments for each other, not from me. I dare say that you're very good friends, and possibly more?"

Draco glared at the man, and Orion simply gazed at him impassively, his lips curving into a smile as well, though it wasn't pleasant, but cold and sharp. "You suspected, you say? Perhaps, but there are many things you don't know."

"Indeed?" said Dumbledore calmly. "And I suppose you're going to reveal them to me?"

"No, why should I?" interjected Orion dismissively. "Boasting is useless and most of times counterproductive."

"Then I should tell you that I know much more than you're aware of," interjected Dumbledore placidly, piercing him with his eyes. "I know for instance, that you already have two of them, and that the third and last one just flew over the battlements. Nevertheless, I cannot allow you to have it, my dear boy. And why didn't you take it from me before? Why did you tend to me, my boy?"

"What? What's he talking about?" demanded Draco confusedly, his gaze snapping to Orion.

"I didn't tend to you," interjected Orion, his body stiffening while his gaze still locked with Dumbledore's. "I simply couldn't allow you to die before your time. Draco and I must do our part, before that."

"Oh, quite," said Dumbledore calmly, before he sighed and briefly closed his eyes. "I also know how powerful you've become, my dear boy. Even though, a few months ago, I could no longer sense it. You took something to suppress it, didn't you? So that I and others wouldn't perceive how powerful you've grown. But I know, nonetheless; you're so like him…" He peered at him over his half-moon spectacles, and added softly, "I also know he's alive. For a whole week, after Voldemort destroyed Nurmengard, and after I saw his scorched corpse, I believed he had truly died. But then, I felt him." He weakly smiled. "And he's close by - in England, I think. No doubt, he's with you, and you should have taken him far away if you didn't want me to know that he was still alive. Didn't he tell you?"

Orion stood shell-shocked, never even imagining the old man could know that Grindelwald lived. But he soon recovered his senses, his posture nonchalant, and he asked coolly, "Tell me what?"

"Ah, he didn't," murmured Dumbledore, looking suddenly distant, slightly regretful and saddened. "Maybe he thought I wasn't capable of feeling him anymore, maybe he doesn't feel me himself. But he's mistaken, I never stopped feeling him."

"What do you mean?" demanded Orion sharply, a deep frown on his face.

Dumbledore faintly smiled at him. "Ask him. Tell me, were you planning on killing me, to get the Wand?" His gaze flickered to Draco, and he added quietly, "What will do you now that your friend has disarmed me?"

"It doesn't change my plans," said Orion curtly.

"So you are going to kill me?" asked Dumbledore calmly, gazing at him over his half-moon spectacles.

"No, he isn't," snapped Draco, glaring at the both of them and aiming his wand at the old man. "I am!"

Dumbledore gazed at him, and said gently, "You're not a killer, my boy."

"I got this far, didn't I?" bit out Draco. "They thought I'd die in the attempt, but I'm here, and you're in my power. I'm the one with the wand. You're at my mercy."

"No, Draco," said Dumbledore quietly. "It is my mercy, and not yours, that matters now." His gaze met Orion's. "To both of you."

"We don't need your help, old man," interjected Orion sharply.

"Really?" said Dumbledore gravely, piercing him with his eyes. "And you think Voldemort won't torture Draco? Are you ready to fight him to save your friend's life?"

Orion scoffed, and said nonchalantly, "If I must."

"And what about your father?" asked Dumbledore, gazing at him over his half-moon spectacles. "Oh, I could piece it all together; the way you must have resurrected him, what you used, and who helped you. Are you going to become one of them? Is that how you plan to spare Voldemort? Because I know you cherish him. I could see the admiration and affection in your eyes, when you gazed at Tom Riddle, in the memories I showed you. Oh, you concealed it well, my boy, but I wasn't fooled-"

"And it seems that you know the truth, then," hissed out Orion, narrowing his eyes at him, suddenly seething with fury, though he was also alarmed that the old man knew about the existence of the Guild – Grindelwald hadn't, until he told him. "The truth about the prophecy, what it really means and alludes to. You knew and lied about-"

"I never lied-"

"You did!" spat Orion irately, his eyes sparkling with unrestrained anger. "And you tried to mislead me by keeping a lot of information to yourself. I know many things as well, things you didn't want to reveal to me, because you needed me to be your tool, your sacrifice!" He glared at him, and sneered contemptuously, "And was it for the Greater Good, Dumbledore? Is that what you tell yourself?"

Dumbledore eyed him with a saddened expression on his face. "No, my dear boy. You must listen to me. There's much you really don't know about. You have many options open to you. You don't necessarily need to-"

Abruptly, footsteps thundered up the stairs, and a second later, four people in black robes burst through the door on to the ramparts, and Draco –still looking disconcerted by the conversation- was buffeted out of the way, and Orion quickly moved to a side, with a firmer hold of his wand, tensing.

"Dumbledore cornered!" said a lumpy-looking man with an odd lopsided leer, as he wheezed a giggle. Orion immediately recognized him as Amycus Carrow, just when the wizard turned to a stocky little woman who was grinning eagerly. "Dumbledore wandless! Dumbledore defenseless! Well done, Draco, well done!"

"Good evening, Amycus," said Dumbledore calmly, as though welcoming the man to a tea party. "And you've brought Alecto too... charming..."

The woman gave an angry little titter, and she jeered, "Think your little jokes'll help you on your death bed, then?"

"Jokes? No, no, these are manners," replied Dumbledore pleasantly, and Orion couldn't suppress an amused chuckle.

Oh, even if he was going to kill the old man, he could still enjoy the wizard's unique way of countering. Indeed, the man had style. But his chuckle must have been loud, because the four Death Eaters, who had apparently been unaware of his presence, rounded on him.

"You – here?!" spat Bellatrix in a shrilly voice, her dark eyes sparkling with true hatred.

"Auntie, you're looking well," said Orion sarcastically, shooting her a smirk.

"Try saying that to your father," sneered Bellatrix, eyeing him venomously. "I cannot grasp how that bloodtraitor is still alive – it's rumored you brought him back to life, but I don't believe it. You're nothing now, are you? Not after My Lord got tired of you and discarded you as the used fuck toy you were-"

"Still jealous, Bella?" interjected Orion impassively, before he instantly aimed his wand at her, and hissed icily, "And if you did something to Sirius, I'll rip your eyes out and slowly torture you until you lose the bit of sanity you have left. And then, I'll use your corpse and turn you into an Inferi, and I'll obliterate your soul, and you'll be nothing but rotting flesh, an empty carcass, forever."

Bellatrix narrowed her eyes at him, and she was about to say something, spitting with fury, when a raspy voice growled behind Orion's back, sounding angry and heated, "Remus' cub. It's been a while."

Orion spun around, and was confronted by a big, rangy man with matted grey hair, in whom the black Death Eater's robes looked uncomfortably tight. He supposed the man might have been handsome once, with the silver-hued hair, strong masculine features and deep amber eyes. But he certainly wasn't at present. He hadn't seen the werewolf in years, but Greyback looked awful; his mouth revealing sharp, thick and blood-stained incisors, his lips curled upwards, his robes stained and ragged, blood dribbling from his chin, his face gaunt and dark shadows under his eyes, and with filthy hands with long yellowish nails. Furthermore, Orion could smell a poignant mixture of dirt, sweat, and of blood coming from him. He grimaced in distaste. This was the man he had promised Connolly to bring to Lycaon, and to Remus? He must be out of his mind. And he had thought that his relationship with Voldemort was messy and troublesome; it certainly paled in comparison with what poor Remus had. The fates had certainly been cruel when dealing with Remus, by making him the mate of the… creature before him. Why, he would choose Voldemort over Greyback, any day.

"Fenrir," he said dryly, "it has been a long while."

Greyback grinned, showing pointed teeth. Blood trickled down his chin and he licked his lips slowly, obscenely.

"That blood better not be from someone I care for," said Orion sharply, narrowing his eyes at the werewolf.

Greyback's grin spread viciously, and he jeered nastily, "Ow, cub, I wouldn't-"

"Enough of this!" snapped Alecto impatiently, as she glared at all of them, while Orion merely glanced at Greyback, a bit puzzled since the werewolf had been 'nice' to him, for the man's standards. "We'll deal with the Dark Lord's spouse after-"

"He's not our Master's spouse anymore!" shrieked Bellatrix enraged. "He doesn't deserve any consideration or respect, not that he ever did!"

"He's still powerful," interjected Alecto sharply, glaring at the other witch. "Or have you forgotten what Rabastan-"

"Lies, all LIES!" bellowed Bellatrix, looking quite crazed. "No one can defeat My Lord, and even less this pathetic little boy!"

"Who is a Black," bit out Alecto, narrowing her eyes. "He's your relative, Bella, so I don't see why you scorn him so much, after the things he's proved to be able to do! He's an asset to the Dark."

Orion observed how the witches irately glared at each other, filing the information away, since it was certainly useful to know that they hated one another, for some reason – probably because they competed between them, being the only female Death Eaters. But what caught his attention was Dumbledore, who was gazing at him with a pale and pained expression on his face. So finally the old man knew that he had once been Voldemort's spouse… Then, he heard a gasp, and his gaze flickered to Draco. The young wizard was piercing him with his silvery eyes, and his expression was one of gleeful joy. Orion rolled his eyes, and merely shot him a faint grin. So now Draco knew that he was 'unattached'…

"We have to get going," growled Greyback impatiently, roughly grabbing Draco by the neck and pulling him forward. "Do it, lad."

"Fenrir Greyback…" muttered Dumbledore, gazing at the werewolf.

"Yes, Dumbledore, it's me," jeered the werewolf, grinning widely and revealing once again his bloodied teeth.

"Are you attacking even without the full moon now? This is most unusual... you have developed a taste for human flesh that cannot be satisfied once a month?"

"That's right," said Greyback. "Shocks you, that, does it, Dumbledore? Frightens you?"

"Well, I cannot pretend it does not disgust me a little," said Dumbledore calmly, his eyes flickering to Orion with something he couldn't discern, before the gaze turned to Draco and back to the werewolf. "And, yes, I am a little shocked that Draco here invited you, of all people, into the school where his friends live..."

"I didn't," breathed Draco. He was not looking at Greyback; he did not seem to want to even glance at him. "I didn't know he was going to come -"

"I wouldn't want to miss a trip to Hogwarts, Dumbledore," rasped out Greyback. "Not when there are throats to be ripped out... delicious, delicious..." He raised a yellow fingernail and picked at his front teeth, leering at Dumbledore. "I could do you for afters, Dumbledore..."

"No," said Alecto sharply. "We've got orders. Draco's got to do it. Now, Draco, and quickly."

Orion silently gazed at his friend, relieved when he saw that the young wizard was showing less resolution than ever. He looked terrified as he stared into Dumbledore's face, which was even paler, and rather lower than usual, since the old wizard had slid so far down the rampart wall.

But then, suddenly, Draco's silvery eyes gazed at him, and he saw the young wizard's jaw clenching, and a sparkle of determination glowing in his eyes. And just like that Orion knew one thing: Draco would do it, surprinsingly. He knew why as well. Because he was there, observing. He knew Draco hated when others perceived him as weak, but the boy would even hate more to give him reason to believe that Draco wasn't ruthless enough. After all, Draco always thought that he had once chosen to become Voldemort's spouse because the wizard was powerful, ruthless, strong, and vicious. By killing Dumbledore, Draco believed he would be proving his worth. And yes, Orion would have agreed, if circumstances were different, but he couldn't allow the boy to do it – Dumbledore was his.

And when he saw the fury and hatred growing like a tempest in Draco's silvery eyes, as the boy called forth those emotions to be able to cast the Killing Curse, Orion swiftly aimed his wand at him, and yelled, "Expelliarmus!"

The Death Eaters roared in anger, and Draco stared at him, stunned, bewildered, and then furiously, but Orion ignored them and deftly caught Draco's wand in mid-air. And he inwardly smirked, highly satisfied, knowing that by having disarmed Draco he had just become the Elder Wand's Master.

Abruptly, a violet beam of light careened towards him and he jumped to a side, before he glanced around with narrowed eyes.

"TRAITOR!" bellowed Bellatrix, her dark eyes spitting fire, as she shot him another curse.

"You stupid witch," snapped Orion angrily, swiftly rising up a shield to block the spell. "I'm no traitor. You of all people should know why I'm doing this!"

"The Unbreakable Vow you took," snarled Bellatrix in a low voice laced with fury, "doesn't bind you to kill the old goat! You only had to do it if Draco failed, and he was about to kill the mudblood-lover!"

"I have reasons to kill Dumbledore myself," interjected Orion curtly.

"And My Lord will torture Draco if he doesn't do it!" hissed out Bellatrix, narrowing her eyes at him. "Haven't you thought of that?! I would have never agreed to you taking the Vow if I had known that you would do this-"

"What Unbreakable Vow?" demanded Alecto sharply, glaring at Bellatrix. "Our Master said that no one had to interfere with Draco's task, and you made Lord Black take an Unbreak-"

"He isn't Lord anything!" screeched Bellatrix, looking deranged in her fury.

"Tell me something, Bella," interjected Orion crisply. "You care about what happens to Draco, your nephew, yet you don't care two figs about me, also your nephew, even if I'm twice removed?"

"You're just a bloodtraitor's son, his spawn with a mudblood. You're nothing more than a filthy half-blood," spat Bellatrix, her tone contemptuously sneering. "You are no nephew of mine."

"Fine," said Orion, eyeing her with a cold expression on his face. "But know this, I won't let anything happen to Draco – I certainly care more about him than you proclaim to- and I will be the one to kill Dumbledore." He glanced at Draco, and said quietly, "Trust me, Draco. I would never let anything happen to you, but I want to kill the old man myself. Do you trust me?"

Abruptly, there were renewed sounds of scuffling from below and a voice shouted, "They've blocked the stairs - Reducto! REDUCTO! It doesn't work!"

Orion's heart thundered in his chest; the Order, and possibly Aurors, would soon find a way in. He didn't have time to spare, and he dearly wanted to find out how his father was faring.

Draco intently gazed at him, and then replied firmly, "Yes, I trust you."

"Thanks," murmured Orion, shooting him a warm smile while he handed over the wand he had taken from him.

"Someone better kill Dumbly now!" yelled the lumpy Amycus, his eyes flickering from Draco to Orion. "Draco, Lord Black, either of you do it, or stand aside so one of us-"

At that precise moment the door to the ramparts burst open, and there stood Snape, his wand clutched in his hand as his black eyes swept the scene, from Dumbledore slumped against the wall, to the four Death Eaters, to Draco, and finally, he pinned Orion with his obsidian gaze.

"We've got a problem, Snape," said Alecto, her eyes and wand fixed alike upon Dumbledore, "Draco was about to kill the old codger when -"

Suddenly, somebody else spoke Snape's name, quite softly.

"Severus..."

Orion's gaze fell upon Dumbledore, whose eyes were flickering from him to Snape, as he continued in a weak voice, "The boy took the Unbreakable Vow, not you?"

Snape said nothing, but walked forwards and pushed Draco roughly out of the way, to stand besides Orion. The three Death Eaters fell back without a word, as did Greyback.

"Why?" murmured Dumbledore, and at that point, Orion did feel a twinge of – something; the old wizard's voice was faint, but also laced with pained betrayal, as he stared up at Snape.

Snape turned to narrow his eyes at Orion, and snarled furiously, "Do it. What are you waiting for? Do you want to unnecessarily torture him? Does your hatred for him run so deep?"

"No," said Orion shortly, before he gestured at the Death Eaters. "But we broke into arguments and wasted time." He pierced the wizard with his eyes, and added curtly, "I'll do it, right now."

Snape sharply nodded, and Orion took a step forward, just as Dumbledore gazed up at him with a saddened and vulnerable expression on his face, while the old wizard murmured faintly, "Don't… you can't…"

Orion stared at him, and grimaced. He had never wanted to kill the old man in this way, so unfairly, so ignobly, even Dumbledore deserved better than this. However, his time had run short, and he really didn't have any other alternatives. The Leader of the Light had to be killed. He instantly pulled a cold expression over his features, and made every ounce of fury and hatred bubble inside him, until he knew that his face was etched with harsh lines.

Then, he raised his wand, aiming at Dumbledore's chest, and started to say the words, "Avada Kedavra!"

But, suddenly, the words choked in his throat… He tried again, frantically, but they wouldn't come out… He side-glanced at Snape, his eyes wild and panicky, and the wizard frowned back at him, his black eyes flickering from him to Dumbledore. And abruptly, as Orion choked on the words of the Killing Curse again, unable to utter them, he remembered something… It struck him like a lightning bolt, carrying comprehension and a dawning realization that made his face drain from all color… He remembered but he had never thought it was consequential, he had never even imagined that the Avada Kedavra would have hit him if it hadn't been for Dumbledore… He remembered Dumbledore making the golden statue protect him, in the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic… The golden statue had taken the hit of Voldemort's Killing Curse … Curse for which he had jumped to a side to avoid… the Curse hitting the statue instead, but he had jumped away, so he had never thought that the Curse would have hit him… But now, it was clear that it would have. Apparently he hadn't move quickly enough, and the only reason why he hadn't been hit by the Avada Kedavra was because of the statue, because of Dumbledore…

And if he couldn't kill Dumbledore right now, if the words couldn't come out from his mouth, he knew what it meant: he owed the old wizard a Life Debt, because the man had saved his life at the Atrium.

Orion gasped, and stumbled backwards, as he stared at the old man with round eyes. Without Dumbledore's intervention at the Atrium, Voldemort's Killing Curse would have struck him… He really did owe Dumbledore a Life Debt. He couldn't kill him – and the old wizard knew it. 'Don't… you can't…' Had that been a warning?

And at that precise instant, with his mind frantically whirling, he desperately clutched his head and screamed continuously when he was suddenly ravaged by unbearable waves of pain, of pure agony… Distantly, he realized why. It was his own magic attacking him, since it was doubly bounded by opposing forces: the Unbreakable Vow, which forced him to complete the task he had stopped Draco from doing, to kill the old man, and the Life Debt, which was forcing him not to kill Dumbledore. It was pain beyond anything he had ever experienced before, his own magic crushing him… He felt his eyes rolling upwards, sparks of white-hot blazes flashing through his obscured vision, just as he fell backwards... as shouts painfully clashed into his ears, agonizingly reverberating in his mind…