Disclaimer: This story is based on characters created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoat Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
AN:
Hi, I'm finally updating! *grins triumphantly* Sorry that I took so long but this chapter was particularly difficult and time-consuming to write. Though, I must honestly admit that it isn't that exciting, so I warn you before you have the chance to be disappointed… But I hope to post the next chappie in two days, Sunday at the latest, and I think it will be much more interesting than this one. Indeed, in the next chapters a lot of stuff will be finally resolved, long-held mysteries unraveled and the such, and we'll see a lot more of war-planning, for those who like that. And I will attempt to pick up the pace, though I won't be sacrificing important plot details and descriptions for it.
Nevertheless, I do hope you get some enjoyment from this chapter!
Oh, and if someone picks up some mistake, be it in writing or plot, I would love you forever and ever if you could tell me in a review, since I didn't have the time to proof read the chapter, and as you know, I have no beta. *sniffs*
Chapter 22
His feet landed on solid ground, and Orion swiftly secured his necklace under his shirt. He immediately crouched, seeing that he had been portkeyed right back to where he had left, as expected - a few paces away from Hogwarts' gates.
His gaze zeroed in on the school, casted in the shadows of the night, and even from that distance he could distinguish a group of wizards coming out from the blasted front oak doors. The Dark Mark had disappeared, it wasn't glowing green above the Astronomy Tower anymore, but the moon still shed some light over the grounds. Thus, he could distinguish the faces bathed in moonlight, and he tensed with alertness.
Scrimgeour was barking orders, standing at Hogwarts' entrance with a grim and stern expression on his face, while his entourage of Aurors busily flocked around the wizard. It was evident that the Minister had been fetched minutes after he had portekeyed to Riddle Manor, and the wizard was now trying to establish some order in the school, and the lack of Dumbledore's presence was significant.
There wasn't any doubt, in Orion's mind, that Dumbledore would have been standing right next to Scrimgeour, if possible. Since the old coot wasn't there, it could only mean two things: that the Killing Curse had indeed struck the old wizard before Fawkes had taken him away, or that Dumbledore was alive but too weak to show up… Orion frowned, and bit his lower lip uncertainly. Or, it could be possible, that Dumbledore was perfectly recovered but chose not to disclose that he was truly alive. He remembered clearly the time when Snape had disclosed Dumbledore's plans to him, when he entered his guardian's mind in order to see, first-hand, the revealing memories… Dumbledore would have been forced to slightly alter his plans, but, regardless, if the old coot was alive and following said plans, then he was in deeper trouble than before…
Orion's jaw clenched and he shook his head, pushing those thoughts to a side, as he checked his wristwatch. He would muse over that matter later, now he had to act; as indicated by his watch, he didn't have a minute to spare. There was only one person who could have done all those inexplicable and strange things that had happened that night – himself.
It had struck him like a stunning revelation before, but it was obvious to him now. Surely, he was perfectly aware of the danger involved if he was caught or seen –Calypso had incessantly nagged him about it- and he knew that if he made one mistake he could be altering reality with unforeseeable and devastating consequences, but it was necessary – it had already happened, after all! And he was no novice when it came to time-travel. Certainly, he had only used it to gain more time to study Cadmus' journal and to be able to attend Durmstrang during the weekends while also going to Potter Manor to train with Grindewald. Though he had never before interfered in matters at the same time when his past self was present.
Nevertheless, the textbook that Calypso had forced him to read from front cover to back, when she had told him about her plan to ask Vagnarov for a time-turner, sufficiently gave him the necessary information for him to proceed with caution in order to succeed. Therefore, without another hitch of breath, he plucked out the golden chain from his robes' inner pocket, swiftly threw the chain around his neck, and grasped the tiny hourglass dangling from it.
He checked his wristwatch again, committing the present time to memory, before he turned the sparkling hourglass over three times. Immediately, his surroundings dissolved in darkness, and Orion had the sensation that he was flying very fast, backwards. A blur of colors and shapes rushed past him, his ears were pounding, and his heartbeat accelerated… and then, he felt solid ground beneath his feet once more, and everything came into focus again…
He was still standing besides the school's gates, but now the grounds were bathed with the dimming light of dusk, the sun just a flimsy orange streak which shinned over a hill. The school grounds were deserted, and he could distantly hear boisterous voices coming from Hogwarts, surely students making their way to their common rooms before curfew.
Orion quickly checked his wristwatch, ascertaining that he had gone back in time three hours, which was as far as he could go given his time-turner's limits. He muttered under his breath as he impatiently casted the parsel-invisibility spell on himself, and waited. Just a few minutes crept by, while he reviewed in his mind every step that he had to take – or had already taken, given how things had already turned out- and before he knew it, it was dark. Time-travel was a tricky business, especially when he had to do what he had already done, but he pushed those convoluted thoughts and preoccupations to aside when he saw a figure calmly strolling out from Hogwarts.
It was Dumbledore, looking as pleasantly unconcerned as ever, as the wizard approached where he was standing. With a few more strides, the old wizard crossed the gates, and Orion stood in absolute stillness as the old man passed along him. And, unexpectedly, he saw a shimmering figure walking side by side with Dumbledore – it was himself, under the Disillusionment Charm that the old man had casted on him before leaving the school. Of course, he had known that he would be walking with Dumbledore, but what came as a surprise was that he could see his past self, that he could see through a Disillusionment Charm, feat only accomplished by wizards as powerful as Dumbledore, Grindelwald or Voldemort. He instantly realized that this was one more proof of how powerful he had grown, thanks to Grindelwald's training.
"...yes," a disembodied, quiet voice was saying, "but I haven't got a license."
"No matter," murmured Dumbledore dismissively, his spectacled gaze fixed on the path leading to Hogsmeade. "I can assist you."
Orion observed how the old man descended along the lane, with the shimmering figure of his past self striding along, and he waited a few more minutes before he casted a muting charm on his feet and then silently followed them.
Darkness descended fast, and it was already night-time when they reached Hogsmeade. Once again, Orion stood still, a good distance away, as Dumbledore encountered Madam Rosmerta. They traded a few words, and the old man and his disillusioned past self proceeded ahead, turning the corner into the side street in which the Hog's Head was located. Then, they suddenly vanished from sight.
Forcing himself to be patient, Orion waited for the minutes to tick by, as he stood in the middle of the street, invisible to anyone. When he surmised that enough time had passed, he swiftly closed his eyes and concentrated to bring up in his mind the image of the towering cliff and rocky shore nearby the cave. Then, still focusing on the image of his destination, he was summarily thrown into the whirlwind of an apparition.
A cold breeze slapped his face, his lungs filling with fresh, salty air, and Orion opened his eyes, and quickly glanced around. From his position, on top of the rocky cliff, he immediately caught sight of the pair; Dumbledore and his past self –no longer disillusioned- were swimming down bellow, reaching the obscured entrance of the cave. He saw them clambering up some rocks, and they soon disappeared from his sight as they entered the cave's opening. It was then that Orion debated how to proceed forwards.
He knew what he had to do; obtain the fake locket without being seen, and he understood his reasons for having done so. If the locket hadn't disappeared, no matter how ill the potion had made Dumbledore, at some point the old man would have seen the fake locket, and probably opened it to find the message inside. And the last thing he wanted was for Dumbledore to know that the message had been written by Regulus Black. Given the old wizard's sharpness of mind, the man would instantly realize what it meant; that Regulus had known about Voldemort's horcruxes, that he had taken the real horcrux, and, more importantly, that the real locket had obviously not been destroyed but stashed in Regulus' bedroom in Grimmauld's Place.
Given that everyone knew by now that he had escaped from the Dursleys when he was ten years old, found that very evening by his escaped father, and that they had lived in Grimmauld's Place for several weeks before going to Black Manor, Dumbledore would certainly piece it all together. The old man would certainly conclude, correctly, that he had found the Slytherin locket all those years ago, and that he had befriended the Tom Riddle of the portrait.
Whether Dumbledore was alive or not, it was better to work with the worse-case scenario, with the assumption that the old man had survived. Therefore, he didn't want the old coot to know that he had grown up with Tom Riddle by his side. The less the old man knew the better, since it would give the wizard less chances to manipulate him with the knowledge that Regulus –supposedly, only his uncle- had turned against Voldemort in the end, and died for it. Furthermore, Dumbledore believed that he was loyal to Voldemort because he had found out, over a year ago, that he was a horcrux. Therefore, he certainly didn't want the old man to discover that he had known Tom Riddle since the age of ten: that their 'friendship' had influenced him since childhood; that it had in some way helped him decide to support the Dark; that he had known about the horcruxes, in some measure, for so long; that he had been mentored by Tom; and that his feelings for Voldemort had much to do with the locket Tom Riddle as well.
Not to mention, of course, that if the old man discovered that one of the presumed horcruxes was fake, then the wizard would have cause to ponder if his suspicious regarding the rest of the horcruxes were incorrect or flawed. And that would lead to a whole lot of trouble for Voldemort, but also for himself. Indeed, the less the old coot knew, the better.
Now, the matter was how to procure the fake locket, swiftly, without being detected, without using the boat and without disturbing the cave's lake, since the Inferi had only risen when he had used Dumbledore's conjured goblet to get some water for the old man. Orion slightly frowned when he remembered that he had been detected in some way – he had heard a fluttering sound…
Suddenly, his eyes brightened and a smirk tugged his lips. It had been the fluttering of wings, of course! Yet, he had to have been small enough to pass through the cave's hidden entrance, and his wings surely couldn't have been the large, powerful ones of his wyvern animagus form or he would have made a ruckus. No, he certainly had to turn into Blackwing, his eagle form, the one he had learned as a child with his father's help, and which he hadn't used in ages, since it wasn't his real animagus shape. He recalled that, according to Durmstrang's Human Transformation professor, he had transformed into Blackwing as a child, when trying to find his animagus form, because turning into his real wyvern shape would have been impossible at such young age, since a wyvern was a magical creature, thus a very uncommon animagus form, difficult to master. Furthermore, he was certain that his ability to change into a form which wasn't his real animagus one –and his scarcely used ability to half-way transform into Firebreath- had much to do with the Metamorphagus trait carried in the Black bloodline.
With the obvious solution in his mind, Orion slowly flexed his invisible left arm – and winced. It still ached painfully and it still didn't work perfectly, though he could use it better than before after having casted some standard healing spells on it. Bellatrix had certainly done a number on his arm. Nevertheless, he could move it, and that was good enough. And without another hitch of breath, he concentrated in shifting his limbs. The transformation happened slower than ever before, as expected given that he hadn't turned into Blackwing in ages. But in a couple of minutes and after several painful cracking of bones, he found himself with a white-and-black vision, his surroundings looming above him as he flapped his wings and teetered from side to side, becoming used to his stick-like legs, small but sharp claws, and his small size.
Then, he quickly flapped his wings and soared up into the dark skies, before he dived down towards the wild waves of the sea. His tiny heart was now quickly pounding in his black feathered chest, the heartbeat so unusually fast that it felt uncomfortable, yet he was encompassed with an exultant, thrilling sensation as he flew over the spikes of waves, and he relished in it – in the feeling of carefree, simplistic freedom that he always had when flying.
Rushing through the chilly wind, he flew directly into the cave, his sharp vision greatly helping, and he perched himself on top of a towering boulder in the middle of the cave. His golden eyes instantly inspected the rocky wall of the cave – the secret entrance had closed itself. He squawked, not at all happy that he would have to shed his own blood to reopen it, but there was no other way. He landed on the ground and quickly hopped forward until he stood before the cave's wall. Then, he brought up his invisible right wing –the parsel-invisibility spell still holding even in his animagus form- and he pecked it repeatedly with his sharp beak. He felt tiny drops of blood trickling down the small feathers and he swiftly rubbed his right wing against the rocky wall, smudging his blood on it.
Suddenly, a blazing silver outline of an arch appeared in the wall, and the rock within it vanished, leaving an opening into darkness. Knowing that it would close again in a few minutes, and thus that he had to act quickly since he didn't want to stop on his way back to shed more blood to reopen it, he jumped into the air and swiftly flew through the archway.
He came through the other side and soared over the edge of the lake, slowing down and doing his best to flap his wings quietly, since he could be heard even if he was invisible. He flew in small circles as he gazed down at his surroundings, and he immediately caught sight of Dumbledore and his other self. They were already in the tiny island in the middle of the lake, and he flew towards them, flapping his wings as less as possible and spreading them wide in order to be suspended in the air and move forth, instead of quickly flying forward. Thankfully, in this smaller form, an eagle, he didn't need to flap his wings as forcefully and constantly as when he was a wyvern, so his actions were quiet.
He swiftly landed on the edge of the stone basin, clutching it with his claws and precariously maintaining his balance by spreading his wings wide beside him, just at the same time that his past self scooped a gobletful of potion.
"Only one more, sir. Drink this, drink it," was his other self murmuring, sitting down on his haunches and placing Dumbledore's head on his lap as he forced the old man to drink.
He blinked at the scene, feeling that it was bizarre to see himself from that perspective. His past self looked tired yet determined and smug, while Dumbledore seemed to be in agony.
"I want to die!" abruptly shouted Dumbledore, the aged face contorting with anguish, "I want to die! Make it stop, make it stop, I want to die – KILL ME!"
"I will, soon," whispered his past self, as he gently caressed a silver lock of hair from Dumbledore's face. "Tell me about Ariana."
"Ariana… mother… Abe! Please… no, my fault!… Gellert…"
He forced himself to stop paying attention to them, the scene was disturbing and he was starting to feel greatly tempted to do something about it – namely, to steal the Elder Wand. Yet he knew he couldn't, he hadn't done it and if he tried, his past-self would surely detect that someone was there. And if his past-self was confronted with his current-self, there was no way of knowing how he would react. Would he understand that he had time-travelled and that he wasn't someone passing off as him? Or would he attack before asking questions? He would like to believe that he would instantly realize what was going on, but he wasn't about to test himself. The last thing he wanted was to die under his own wand, killed by himself. That would indeed be ironic and pathetic. Oh, no, he certainly wouldn't complicate matters. That evening had already turned out to be a giant, messy failure.
"Hyperion… Hyperion Dionysius…"
"That's a middle name, Albus-"
"Gellert!" suddenly cried Dumbledore, and he moved into action as the old man grasped his past-self's hand. "Please… please, listen, I-"
Abruptly, the old man let out a piercing scream of pain and doubled over, landing face-first on the stone floor, his body lying unmoving. And seeing his other self distracted, he swiftly hopped inside the stone basin. Almost nothing was left of the potion, and the fake locket was innocently lying inside the basin's depth. Swiftly, he squatted and nipped the locket in his beak, and then stood in absolute stillness, concentrating in hearing what his past-self was doing, since he couldn't see over the basin's edge.
"Ennervate!" snapped his other self, then he heard a string of muttered cursing, and there was a scuffling noise. "Aguamenti!"
He took that as his cue and instantly flapped his wings, once, soaring into the air with the locket trapped inside his beak, but he immediately dived down when he caught sight of his past-self snapping his head up and gazing around with suspicious alertness. There was no doubt in his mind that this was the moment in which he had heard the fluttering sound. Thus, he landed on the ground, inches behind his other-self's shoes, standing on his small claws, motionless and quiet.
Suddenly, he almost squawked when his past-self leapt to his feet and his boots almost squashed him. He flapped his wings once and hopped to a side, but then his past-self turned around once again and he was forced to hop to the other side, feeling increasingly irritated with his other self. Surely, yet again he was forced to hop repeatedly to stay out of the way of his past-self, dancing around him and the unconscious Dumbledore. He had half a mind to stab his other self's ankle with his beak, his impatience growing, though, thankfully, his past self finally approached the lake.
Nevertheless, he didn't spring forth into a flight, lest he be heard or the locket be seen dangling from his invisible beak. He needed his other self to be distracted, therefore he simply observed -with a twisted kind of amusement- how his past-self halted in his way towards the lake to jump forward towards the basin and gape at its emptiness.
He hopped and ducked behind the stone pillar which held the basin, and poked his small head up and around to peer up at his past-self. That Orion was still gazing down at the basin, jaw hanging agape, with a confused frown on his face. Then his past-self's eyes widened and frantically glanced around, tightly clutching his wand, shoulders tensing.
Thankfully, a pitiful moan echoed through the cave, and his past-self's attention focused back on Dumbledore. He inwardly sighed with exasperated relief when his past-self finally crouched on the edge of the island and plunged the goblet into the lake.
He impatiently observed how his other self made Dumbledore drink another gobletful of water, before the goblet clanked to the ground as a slimy white hand abruptly shot from the lake, grasping his past-self's ankle. In a few more seconds, the lake's surface rippled and more Inferi sprung forth. At last, he saw his past-self's eyes turning into all-black glowing pools, an eager smirk curving his lips as he yelled exultantly, "Domino necrocorpus!"
Then, knowing that his other self was finally distracted, he jumped into a flight and quickly flapped his wings. He soared into the air, flying inches away from the cave's rocky ceiling, while bitterly musing that dealing with the Inferi had been the highlight of his day – that, and shooting a Sectumsempra at Ron Weasley, though he would have infinitely preferred that it could have been the Killing Curse. Yet, he had to reluctantly admit that Snape's advise to spare light wizards had been a wise one, considering how things had turned out.
He flew through the secret entrance of the inner cave, which was thankfully still open, and he didn't stop until he was soaring up into the dark skies, with the sea's waves cresting under him. At last, he perched himself on a rock and swiftly transformed back. He spat the locket out from his mouth and quickly pocketed it, before he patted all over himself to make sure that he had all his things with him; his clothes, and his shrunk Firebolt and trunk inside his pockets. He ascertained that he hadn't lost anything in his transformations, since one could lose his clothes and any other thing one had with himself when transforming without the required concentration, much like it happened when one lost a limb when apparating incorrectly. Then, without wasting any more time, and just when he saw his other self plunging into the sea, dragging a weak Dumbledore, he swiftly closed his eyes and apparated away.
Orion landed in the middle of Hogsmeade, and he hesitated for a fraction of a second, wondering what he should do next. Finally, he unshrunk his Firebolt, spelled it invisible, mounted it and rushed towards Hogwarts. He was still under the parsel-invisibility spell so he wasn't concerned about being seen, but he didn't quite know how much he could do without anyone finding out that there was a time-travelling Orion moving about the school. Nevertheless, he made up his mind when he caught sight of the Dark Mark already glowing above the Astronomy Tower.
Dumbledore and his past self would soon apparate into Hogsmeade, Rosmerta finding them before they took her broomsticks to fly to the Tower. Therefore, he estimated that he had about ten to fifteen minutes before matters erupted in the Astronomy Tower. He inwardly grimaced; that part would indeed be tricky, saving himself without being noticed, while surrounded by Death Eaters who would notice anything suspicious and then tell Voldemort.
He frowned, his mind jumbling with plans and thoughts, while he flew through the school's gates, deciding to make his way to the Astronomy Tower in order to be prepared… Yet, he still had a couple of minutes, and perhaps he could find and speak to his father, since Merlin knew when Sirius would be able to contact him now that the wizard was under suspicion. Though, he realized that people like Moody would always suspect Sirius, even if that night's events hadn't happened at all.
Nevertheless, it would truly be helpful if he could speak to his father, and even for more reason since he hadn't caught sight of a single Auror, disillusioned or not, patrolling outside the school. It was clear they that had already seen the Dark Mark and that they must be inside the school, probably already battling Draco and the Death Eaters. Thus, as soon as he reached the school's entrance, he dismounted the Firebolt, shrunk and pocketed it, before he slipped through the front oak doors.
The instant he stepped into the main hall of the school, he became aware of the confused havoc inside. A group of befuddled and fearful students were being swiftly escorted by Professor Sinistra, who had a curt and no-nonsense expression on her usually amiable face. When he gazed upwards, towards the maze-like lattice of moving staircases, he caught sight of Professor Flitwick escorting a gaggle of Ravenclaw students, Luna and Cho Chang among them, before they disappeared into a corridor which he surmised led to the entrance of Ravenclaw's Tower. Noises of a distant scuffle echoed throughout the castle, and all the while a voice was booming, "…all students are to remain in their common rooms. Anyone found outside will earn a severe detention-"
Abruptly, an explosion resounded through the school, accompanied by yells and crashing noises, and McGonagall's stern, booming voice became more urgent as she continued rambling about security measures and the dire consequences for anyone who didn't abide them. Though the witch didn't give any explanations, and she certainly didn't mention the Dark Mark which had been casted over the school.
Nevertheless, Orion didn't pay attention to what she was saying and he quickly took two steps at a time to rush towards the origin of the bellowed curses. As he ran with all his might, he puckled out the Marauder's Map from his pocket, tapped it with his wand, and muttered, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good…"
Never halting, he quickly glanced down at the map to discover a group of black dots, all bunched up in one place, some scattering without direction while other dots were swiftly moving forward – all in the sixth floor's corridor. And he instantly realized that that corridor connected the Room of Requirements to the only entrance of the Astronomy Tower. Furthermore, as he glanced down again to read the names labeled over the dots, he discovered that his father was there, among a group of Aurors and Order members, some names he knew and others he didn't. And more importantly, Draco was there, with the Death Eaters, and they were greatly outnumbered. More dots started to appear in that corridor, but he swiftly pocketed the map and wasted no more time.
With a couple of more turns and sprints along stairways, he finally reached the landing which gave way to the sixth's floor corridor. But, abruptly, he heard the rushing of feet behind him, and he flattened himself against the wall just in time when a group of four students passed by him at full speed.
"Ron!" panted out Hermione, running along with Seamus and Dean, looking disheveled and frantic. "We should wait for Professor McGonag-"
"She knows what's going on!" snapped Ron, without glancing back at her and never halting in his mad dash. "And we saw the Dark Mark from our common room's window. And the yells are coming from here – my brother is with the Order, 'Mione! He's in there and I wanna help. And I bet you anything that Black is with the Death Eaters, that he's one of them-"
"Orion is the Boy-Who-Lived and he's been working with Dumbledore on something. He cannot be helping the Death Eaters-"
"THEN WHERE IS HE?!" bellowed Ron, his face puffing with rage. "You told me yourself that he's been acting strangely these past few weeks. And I knew from the start that he was Dark. That he's bad news - evil! That he couldn't be trusted-"
"But I never said that Orion-"
"Blimey - wake up, Hermione! He's a traitor – he's Dark!" bit out Ron, as the group made a turn around the corner. "I'm gonna bring him down and he deserves everything that he's getting-"
Suddenly, their voices were muted by a resounding crash and by a messy roar of simultaneous spells and curses, before a curt, authoritative voice yelled angrily, "What are you children doing here?! This is Auror business-"
"We want to help-"
"Someone get these brats away from here!" commanded a gruff voice. "Diggory!"
"Yes, sir-"
"The Death Eaters, block them – get them! Arggh, what's this?!"
Orion didn't think about it twice and he quickly turned around the corner, but as soon as he stepped into the corridor he was suddenly startled when he found himself in absolute darkness, before it was cut through by streaks of light as voices started bellowing spells. He squinted and finally discerned the scene before him. The battle among the patrol of Aurors and Order members against the Death Eaters was chaotic and fierce, and a mantle of darkness seemed to be encompassing everyone, no matter how many spells were being casted. The only source of light came from Draco, who was in the further end of the corridor, holding a shriveled, decomposed arm in his left hand – the Hand of Glory, which Lucius had given him as a present, a long while ago.
Draco seemed to be the only one who wasn't getting the brunt of the Aurors' attack, though he was busy dueling against a young man, who, given his casual robes, had to be an Order member. Moreover, Draco looked extremely impatient and frazzled, shooting curses quickly, as if he simply wanted to create a window of opportunity to flee from there. And Orion understood why when he saw that Draco was several feet away from the spiraling staircase which gave way to the Astronomy Tower.
On the other hand, the rest of the Death Eaters were fiercely battling the Aurors and Order members, clearly creating a wedge through which Draco could ran through in relative safety once he got rid of the young wizard he was dueling. The Carrow siblings were fighting against a group of five wizards, back-to-back, displaying an extraordinary coordination between them, and apparently managing quite well on their own. Bellatrix was in the middle of the battle, cackling with thrilled and vicious enjoyment, her wand swishing in the air with amazing speed and dexterity, as her lips constantly spat a continuous string of dark curses. And she was, admittedly, probably the best dueler present there, only surpassed by the Carrow siblings.
Orion's eyes narrowed when he discerned who she was battling against; his father and Bill Weasley. But his attention was captured when he saw Moody and Shacklebot fighting against a ferocious-looking Greyback. Though the werewolf didn't seem too interested in them, since the man frequently shot leering glances at Bill Weasley, who was a few feet away. There was no doubt in Orion's mind that the werewolf preferred to tear apart handsome, young wizards like Bill, instead of wasting time with old, disfigured men like Alastor Moody.
Meanwhile, the Auror left, Cedric Diggory, and one Order member who Orion recognized as the one who had been addressed as 'Elphias', were protectively surrounding Ron, Hermione, Dean and Seamus, casting shields against any wayward or ricocheting curse, while trying to drag them away from the battle. But they didn't have much success, since Ron repeatedly tried to get into the fray, apparently thinking that he could in some way help his older brother. And Orion had to thank Gryffindorish stupidity, since their presence there certainly counted in the Death Eaters's favor, given that Cedric and Elphias had to protect the four Gryffindors instead of directly involving themselves in the battle. Hermione seemed the only one to realize this, since she kept trying to pull away the other three, yet the boys paid her no attention as they shot whatever paltry curses and spells they could manage. Admittedly, it didn't seem as if Bellatrix was giving them any chance to escape, since she frequently shot vicious dark curses at the group, whenever she could manage while dueling against Bill and Sirius.
Orion had been about to surreptitiously aid his father when he caught sight of 'Slughorn', who was among the group which was protecting Hermione and Ron. That definitely gave him pause, and he frowned. The polyjuiced Rodolphus was acting as if he was on the Light's side, putting up his act as Horace Slughorn, and only shooting spells against some distant Auror when no one would notice his 'mistake'. Yet, he didn't understand why Rodolphus was still behaving like Slughorn. The Death Eater had known that Dumbledore knew the truth about his identity, so there was no point in Rodolphus maintaining his cover when he could be directly helping the other Death Eaters…
Abruptly, he remembered something; how Rodolphus had frowned at him when he had told the wizard that Dumbledore knew his real identity. There had been confusion in Rodolphus' frown… and suddenly, it dawned on him why; he had already told Rodolphus about it. And he wouldn't have a better chance than now. The Death Eaters had seen him fall over the Astronomy Tower's battlements, therefore he couldn't speak to Rodolphus after that incident or the wizard would later suspect that there had been two of him. However, no one knew what his other self was doing at present, and he could spin some lie if asked, since only Dumbledore knew the truth.
Furthermore, he had been extremely cautious all this time, waiting and observing before acting. But, at present, in the midst of such a havoc of a battle, he would need to simply jump into it. He realized that this was his only opportunity to do three vital things quickly, one after the other – he wouldn't have a chance later. Moreover, his time was running short –Dumbledore and his other self must be about to reach the Astronomy Tower- and he could no longer do things with the carefulness he would have liked.
Orion crouched, his muscles tensed, and just when he saw a spell careening towards the group composed by 'Slughorn', Hermione and Ron, he ran forward and slammed himself against 'Slughorn'. They flew in the air for over a few feet, before Orion landed on top of the disconcerted and winded wizard. Orion swiftly straddled the man's waist, casted a protective shield and muting bubble around them, and covered the Death Eater's mouth with a hand.
Then, he leaned his face into the crook of the man's neck to whisper urgently in his ear, "I'm under a disillusionment charm, Ruddy, but by my voice you'll be able to tell that it's me, Orion. Now, I need you to listen carefully. Dumbledore knows who you really are, so if… things turn wrong, then you'll need to leave. It's your decision when to show your true allegiance, but if you're planning on staying at the castle because Voldemort ordered you to pose as Slughorn for as long as you could, then I suggest you reconsider. Voldemort surely isn't aware, but Dumbledore knows who you are and there's a high chance that the Aurors will find out if you stay, and you'll be carted off to Azkaban before you even blink. Now, nod if you've understood."
Slughorn's eyes marginally widened, and the man quickly nodded, the chins flapping wildly.
"Good," breathed out Orion, instantly jumping to his feet. "Oh, and tell no one about this." He smirked down at the man, even if he knew that the wizard couldn't see him. "After all, you owe me one for this."
The polyjuiced Rodolphus scoffed, swiftly standing up, but other than that, the man didn't do anything that could indicate that there was someone else near him. And surreptitiously nodding again, now respectfully, the wizard instantly jumped back into action, as if nothing had happened other than he had been toppled down by some spell. Orion was certain that the wizard must be wondering about his invisible presence there but he was also quite certain that the man wouldn't later blab about it to anyone else. Rodolphus, despite his outgoing and brash exterior, was a cautious one - much like his younger brother, who wouldn't freely offer information unless it directly benefited him. And Orion was aware that even if Rodolphus said nothing, Voldemort would eventually find out the truth about that night, including his time-travelling interference in that night's happenings.
Suddenly, an explosion of green light shot outwards and he instinctively crouched down on the floor. Though, after feeling no pain or any other symptom, he realized that it was just harmless light, seemingly some type of signal or alarm.
"DRACO, NOW!" yelled Bellatrix, casting a defensive shield against Bill Weasley's and Sirius' volleys of attacks, in order to shoot a curse at the wizard who was still dueling Draco. "The old goat is there – get up there now!"
And in that second, the battle seemed to become fiercer and harsher, everyone redoubling their efforts, as Draco jumped over the limp body of the wizard he had been fighting against and made a dash towards the spiraling staircase which led to the Astronomy Tower. The rest of the Death Eaters remained behind, and they certainly looked as if they were ready to fight till death.
"Someone follow that boy, and stop him from doing whatever he intends to do!" roared Moody, shooting a violet beam of light at Greyback, who was flung into the air, crashing with a sickening noise against a wall. "Diggory, stop protecting the brats – let them get injured, that will show them to not get into battles uninvited! Leave them and go after the Malfoy boy!"
At the same time that Greyback got back to his feet, apparently in the next second after being smashed against the wall, and with a mere grunt of pain while resetting his arm and leaping to attack Moody, Cedric ran towards the stairs into which Draco had disappeared. Seamus Finnegan and Dean Thomas were left behind, protected by Elphias, the old Order member, though the two boys certainly didn't look happy about the situation. And Orion saw how they were managing to inch their way out of the battle now that Bellatrix was more focused on dueling her enemies rather than in keeping Gryffindor students trapped in the fray.
Suddenly, when his gaze was scanning the area to locate his next target, a surprised scream resounded through the corridor, even heard above the bellowed curses, and Orion caught sight of Cedric shooting by above everyone's heads, limbs flailing in alarm. Shacklebot paused his joint-attack with Moody against Greyback and flicked his wand at the flying young Auror, and Orion saw Cedric suddenly, yet carefully, landing on the floor, as if buffeted by invisible pillows.
"There's some sort of barrier, sir!" yelled Cedric, slightly swaying as he stood up. "I couldn't get through!"
Shacklebot started barking orders, but Orion was now certainly not paying attention to them, his gaze was riveted on the entrance to the stairway which led to the Astronomy Tower, his mind rushing with alarm. A barrier? That was something he hadn't expected. How would he get through then? Draco was already up there, Dumbledore and his other self with him, without a doubt, and soon he would need to be there in order to save himself from the clashing warring between the Life Debt and the Unbreakable Vow. And he still needed to do other things before going up there. And where was Snape? His other self must have sent the patronus with the message about ten minutes ago, so what was the man doing that it was taking him so long to show up?
Orion frowned and shook his head. He would worry about the barrier and Snape afterwards. At the very least, he had to accomplish one more thing before he went to the Astronomy Tower. He doubted he would have the time for it later. His gaze scanned the area, he immediately located his next target, and flicked his wand at Hermione, Ron, and 'Slughorn', who was back pretending to be protecting the pair, helping them to make their way out of the battle unscathed. They were blasted away by his nonverbal spell, 'Slughorn' and Ron smashing against a wall, then sliding down, temporarily knocked down.
Meanwhile, Orion immediately jumped forward as a flailing Hermione was about to crash on the hard, stone floors, and with a bout of flashing speed, he wrapped an arm around her waist, rolled with her on the floor, away from the battle, and then quickly jumped to his feet and pulled her around the corner. Even if they were around the corner from the battle, he flicked his wand and casted a disillusionment charm over her and a silencing and anti-spying bubble over them.
Then, he unceremoniously slammed her shimmering figure against the wall, pulling up her arms over her head and tightly gripping her wrist in one of his hand, while he used the other to lift her chin up. Hermione's eyes were wide, confused and dizzied, blinking and flickering in every angle, trying to see who had grabbed her.
"What – who?" she wheezed out, starting to struggle weakly against his hold.
Orion stared at her for a fraction of a second, feeling a sudden twinge of regret which he forced himself to instantly dismiss. He had already done this, so he would do it now to make it happen; turning her into a mindless puppet, someone without a will of her own, since whenever he desired it, she would be nothing but a vessel for his own will. Even if she would be herself the rest of the time, this was something that couldn't be undone; she would always be under his domination and rule, and he would be able to turn her into an obedient puppet whenever he liked, as if turning on and off a switch in her mind.
But, whatever compunctions he felt about it, it was superseded by the realization that such action was necessary; he needed a spy in the Order, in the Light's side, someone who would never be suspected. Who better than a muggleborn girl despised by so many Slytherin students, the know-it-all Gryffindor who had been Neville Longbottom's best friend and who had later been betrayed by the now infamous Boy-Who-Lived? Indeed, no one would ever suspect her, and Dumbledore –if alive- would never imagine that he had casted such an arcane, obscure, and devastating spell on her. He even doubted that Dumbledore knew about this particular dark curse at all; it was ancient and had been tabooed and prohibited over a millennium ago.
All in all, it was a pity - doing this to her. Such a waste. If only she had been willing to be turned to the Dark's side. But it wasn't to be so, and he had to admit that there really wasn't a place for her in the Dark – a muggleborn would cause more problems than be useful, even if it was someone as bright as Hermione. Yet, he wanted to give her some sort of explanation, so that she could someday grasp what had happened to her and why.
He observed her face, and said quietly, "Hermione, listen to me-"
"Orion, is that you?" she said frantically, her eyes snapping in every direction, her unease and alarm increasing. "Why can't I see you? Why are you holding me down-"
"Keep still and listen to me," interrupted Orion, tightening his fingers around her jerking wrists. "I want you to remember this part, what I'll say next. Tonight, and probably for many to come, you'll try to find out my motives and you'll try to unravel what I've done to you. I can only tell you one thing which will help you understand, partly, what has been going on and the reasons behind my actions of tonight." He leaned forward, and whispered softly into her ear, "Remember this clearly: find the Treatise written by Dumbledore in 1899, and read it."
Hermione glanced upwards to where she thought Orion's invisible face was, her expression turning bewildered. "What-?"
Instantly, Orion pressed a hand over her mouth and released her wrists to slap a palm on her forehead, carding his fingers through her frizzy hair, raking her scalp, as he intently bore his gaze into hers, and said sharply, "Possesso mentis subservia!"
Glowing, red claw-like fingers burst forth from Orion's hand, and instantly dug into her skull, like a vise intent on snapping around and trapping a pray in between its steel jaws. As the magic of the dark curse sunk into her brain, the scream that tore from Hermione's mouth was muffled by Orion's hand and by the sounds of the nearby battle. But he was forced to grip her head tighter when her body started to violently convulse, her legs giving way underneath her, and the only thing keeping her up being her hair being fisted in Orion's hand and his body being pressed against hers, pinning her on the wall.
She continued screaming against the hand he had pressed against her mouth, gripping her cheeks, and he started murmuring soothingly in her ear while her muffled voice began to turn hoarse and even more desperate and agonizing, while thick tears rolled down her cheeks, her wide, glazed eyes staring up at him, unfocusedly, "Everything will turn out fine, Hermione… I'm not killing you… don't worry… this pain is nothing, it will end soon… just a few more seconds, let the magic seep into your mind… don't fight it or it will hurt even more…"
She started sobbing uncontrollably, and Orion sighed and gently cleared her tears, still pressing a hand against her mouth, as he continued softly, "Sshhh, don't cry… you'll still be yourself after this - partly... you'll remember your life and you'll act as yourself, the only difference is that you'll be unable to do anything which would constitute a betrayal towards me… you'll never be able to turn against me, you'll automatically help me whenever you can, even if you can do it without being suspected if others are around, and you'll be unable to bring me physical harm be it by action or inaction… you'll find yourself forced to communicate with me, to tell me everything you consider that I might want to know, and you won't be able to fight against it… you'll only be losing your free will, nothing more. No harm will come to you, but you'll never be able to tell anyone about this, nor show or share this memory… you'll only be able to remember this in your dreams and you'll only be able to think about it when you're alone. So, in some way, your mind is still your own, only that now I can have absolute control over it whenever I want."
He pierced her with his eyes, seeing the pupils dilated, the eyes glazed over, her expression slack, and he finally muttered, "I posses your mind now. Do you understand?"
"Yes," she said in a drone-like monotone, and in that instant, her eyes flashed red, the runic symbol glowing in the black depths of her expanded pupils, and Orion's lips tugged upwards as he felt a strange sensation in his mind.
He wrapped an arm around her waist just in time, just when her head lulled to a side and her body sagged limply. And Orion's expression turned into one of wonderment as he touched his temple. He felt a distant, fluttering beating to one side of his mind, a pulsing link at the edges of his awareness… He realized what it was; the connection he could open to Hermione's mind, no matter the distance between them. It was the means by which he could communicate thoughts into her mind, orders to be obeyed, patterns of behavior to be followed, and opinions to be absorbed by her mind. It was the channel through which she could also feed him back the information he requested… It was, in short, the chain between slave and master, and the feeling of it, from Orion's side, was wondrous and thrilling, vibrating with power and a sense of endless opportunity for exploitation.
He shook his head, clearing it from its dazzlement, remembering that the connection he had opened was a fragile one, since if he overexerted it he could easily end up snapping her mind in two and she would be left as a mindless automaton. He would need to be careful and gentle with her, at least at first when he started practicing in how many ways he could control her, when he started testing the limits of his domination over her mind and thoughts.
Orion gazed down at the pale-faced girl who hung like a rag-doll in his arms. With unwitting possessiveness, he gently stroked a frizzy curl away from her tear-stained cheeks. Yes, he would need to go easy on her in the beginning, and he would patiently test just how much he could do.
Still holding her up in his arms, he quickly cancelled the disillusionment charm on her, and then brought down the other spells he had casted around them. In an instant, the racking sounds of the nearby battle came clashing into his ears and he quickly jumped around the corner, and flicked his wand at the unconscious Hermione. She was propelled into the air, before Orion flicked his wand again, making her crash on top of Ron, who had his back turned. The boy cried in startlement, and Orion wasted no time in scanning the area again, looking for his father.
"Hermione?!" Ron was yelling, now having rolled the girl to her back, gazing at her with frantic worry, wand aimed. "Ennervate! ENNERVATE!"
"Uff…Ohhh…"
"What the hell happened to you? Where were you-"
"I…I don't remember… I must have been blasted away by some curse and hit something… Ow, I need to lie down for a bit, I think I have a serious concussion…"
Their conversation soon dimmed as it was swallowed by the noises of the battle, and by the grunts and groans of a couple of wizards who were trying to get into the staircase which led to the Tower. One after the other, like had happened to Cedric, they were bounced off by the invisible barrier, being hurtled through the air. In the midst of that scene, Orion caught sight of something which made his eyes grow wide. The Carrow siblings, Bellatrix and Greyback were rushing forth to form a frontline a few steps away from the entrance to the Astronomy Tower. And without a second thought, quite instinctively, he flattened himself on the floor and casted a shield over him, arms protectively flexing over his head. It was on the nick of time, because the next moment he blinked he saw all those present there hurtling up in the air, as if lifted and spun around by a tornado. They were smashed against the furthest end of the corridor, and the Death Eaters, after having casted their joint curse, dashed into the stairway of the Tower.
Groans, cries, and moans of pain started resounding throughout the corridor, along with cracks and grunts, and Orion's gaze instantly searched for his father amongst the group of wizards, witches, and four Gryffindors, who slowly started to stand up -those who could- to tend to their injuries and others'. Just when he caught sight of his father, who appeared to be disheveled and frazzled but unharmed, the sound of rushing footfalls reached his ears, before two wizards doubled the corner and rushed into the corridor; a tiny one, with glasses askew and a dizzied expression on his pointy face, Professor Filius Flitwick, and the man Orion had been waiting for, Snape, with black robes billowing and a grave expression on the sour face. Snape shot the moaning assembly of wizards and witches a scathing glance, and then completely ignored them as he pelted forward into the staircase leading to the Astronomy Tower.
"How did he cross the barrier?" wheezed out Cedric, perplexed, while wrapping an arm over his ribcage.
Orion saw Moody shooting Shacklebot a significant glance, the old man's disfigured face looking highly suspicious and fierce, and Shacklebot shook his head as he said in his low, deep voice, "He's trusted by Dumbledore and he was obviously fetched by Filius, under Minerva's orders." The imposing wizard shot a glance at the short Charms Professor, who nodded in affirmation, and then the Auror continued, "Alastor, all we can do is keep trying to bring down the spell that's blocking the stairway. If that fails, we'll wait until Snape comes back with the Death Eaters. He'll help us then, and we can ambush them right here, since there's no other way out for them…"
As Shacklebot proceeded to rattle off orders to his unit of Aurors while Moody organized the Order members, Orion stood up, dusted off his robes, and inspected the proceedings for a few seconds. Some Aurors were escorting Ron, Hermione, Dean, and Seamus away from the corridor, Ron being the only one actually complaining until one of the Aurors grabbed him by the scruff and unceremoniously dragged him along. The rest of the Aurors and Order members were moving around, following Shacklebot's and Moody's orders and strategically placing themselves along the corridor, for when the Death Eaters reappeared, since it was obvious that everyone knew that the Death Eaters only had one way out of the Astronomy Tower – the same they had taken to get in. And Orion saw his chance to act when a group of Order members –his father among them- started to disorderly take their positions, in stark contrast with the military-like, curt discipline displayed by the Aurors.
As silent as a ghost, Orion crept behind his father, casted a muting charm around them, and stood on his tip-toes. Then, he slowly wrapped one arm around the wizard's waist, in a way that couldn't be considered threatening, while he slid his other arm over the man's chest to be able to slap a hand on Sirius' mouth.
The wizard stiffened, but Orion whispered into his ear before the man had a chance to react, "It's me, Dad. I cannot tell you much now, but I need you to know that it's probable that Moody will interrogate you before the night is over, and possibly the Aurors as well. So ready yourself, use Occlumency, and remember that the mind web I casted on you will be of great help, so don't refuse to take Veritaserum if they request it. Whatever happens and whatever they say, you must keep acting as a loyal Order member and you must bemoan and condemn whatever I end up doing tonight, and you must act as a father desperate to save his son from Dark influences but also as someone who's starting to see that his son is in too deep and perhaps unsalvageable. That said, we'll meet at Lycaon a week from now – be sure that no one follows you. And, obviously, from now on you can't be seen going to Black Manor and you definitely can't attempt to reach me at Potter Manor. Above all else, I don't want Potter Manor to be discovered by anyone – Dark or Light. So don't send any letters at either manor, send them to Remus and I'll work out something with him to get them. Alright?"
Sirius nodded, looking a bit befuddled. Though the man then covertly placed a hand on Orion's arm, the one he had drabbed over the wizard's chest, and he gently squeezed. Orion briefly smiled, and whispered softly, "Take care, Dad. I'll see you in a week."
And with that, he swiftly released the man, cancelled the charm around them, casted a muting spell on his shoes, and finally rushed towards the staircase which led to the Astronomy Tower. Having seen the Aurors bouncing off when they had tried to enter while Snape and the other Death Eaters had encountered no obstacles, had made Orion realize that only someone baring the Dark Mark would be able to cross the barrier.
And now, knowing that he had mere minutes left -if not seconds- to save his past self, he dearly hoped that wearing the Black Heir ring would get him through the barrier. If not, he would have to find the nearest window and jump off with his broom and then fly to the Tower, but that would take him longer. Therefore, he tried his first option first and he tucked out his necklace from underneath his shirt and swiftly lifted up a hand to spear a finger through the Black Heir ring which dangled from the fine chain.
With his heart beating fast, he hurtled himself into the staircase, and immediately exhaled with relief when he wasn't bounced off. Taking two steps at a time, his footfalls muted and with himself still invisible, he dashed up along the spiraling stairway and at last stepped into the crenelated parapet of the Astronomy Tower. He instantly held up his breath, standing rock still, and took in the scene before him.
"Don't… you can't…" Dumbledore was weakly murmuring, who was slumped up against the ramparts, with a pained and scrunched expression on his pale, aged face.
And his past self was staring at the old man, grimacing, standing steps closer to Dumbledore than anyone else, with Snape and Draco lingering behind, observing, and the other Death Eaters getting increasingly jittery and impatient. That Orion aimed his wand at Dumbledore, his expression harsh, the green eyes turning cold with a glint of hatred and fury, and he parted his lips – and choked.
His other self's eyes widened, frenziedly side-glancing at Snape, and opened his mouth again, and spluttered and choked once more. Several expressions flickered across his other's self face; confusion, frantic alarm, and then horrified realization. Suddenly, his past-self's face twisted in agonizing pain, a scream tearing out from his throat, the green eyes rolling upwards, and body trembling, at the same time that he fell backwards, slumping against Snape.
All hell seemed to break loose, his past-self was endlessly screaming, his body convulsing while an outward explosion of magic blasted from him, black wisps of uncontrolled magic lashing outwards, wrecking the surrounding stone floors and walls, debris and shards flying everywhere, and his past-self didn't seem to be aware of any of it. The Death Eaters were crouching and protecting themselves with magical shields, Draco had a horrified and worried expression on his face as the boy held up his past-self with Snape's help. And Snape, with an alarmed frown on his face, was plucking out potions vials from his belt, now forcing open his past-self's mouth as he force-fed him a potion.
Orion finally snapped into action, and not moving from his spot, he quickly spread out his palms outwards. An expression of deep concentration spread over his features as he focused with all his might in summoning all his dark magic, making it rush out from his fingertips. In the midst of the confusing havoc, black waves of magic shot forwards, striking his past-self, and Orion forced it to plunge inside his past-self's chest, to mesh with that Orion's inner magical core. He saw his past-self's body suddenly jerking, as if struck by a ramming rod, as the magic violently seeped into him.
Waves upon waves of his pure and wild dark magic entered his past-self, and he saw his other's self body relaxing, the scream dying on his lips, the eyes rolling down and slowly gaining back focus… and he knew then that it was working. That his other-self's magic was now attacking the magic he had forced into his other-self instead of attacking the original magical core. The clashing forces of the Unbreakable Vow and the Life Debt were now striking that magic, leaving his other-self's inner magical core relatively unscathed. Nevertheless, his past-self would need to solve the problem soon, fulfilling the Life Debt, as he had done.
Still held up by Snape and Draco, his past-self mumbled something as another potion was forced down his throat, and then his past-self slowly gazed around, with a confused expression on his face. Orion knew that his other-self was searching for Gellert, believing that he had been helped by the wizard.
"What's happening to you?" demanded Snape. "Tell me or I can't help you!"
Abruptly, his past-self doubled over and coughed up spurts of blood, but Orion's attention wasn't riveted on him. He felt extremely weakened and exhausted since he was still channeling his black magic into his past-self, the waves of magic meshing with the tendrils that spiked and lashed out from his past-self's body, still destroying their surroundings. He wasn't worried about his presence being discovered by the Death Eaters, since the magic he poured outwards was merging with the uncontrolled magic of his past-self and it simply looked as if everything was coming out from his past-self. But there was someone who was realizing the truth.
Orion's attention was now completely focused on the old wizard who was sagging against the battlements of the Tower, Dumbledore's weakened gaze widening as it scanned the area. So Dumbledore suspected… Dumbledore knew… Dumbledore had felt him… and suddenly, everything started making sense… the strange words that Dumbledore had muttered, 'Ah, it's out of my grasp…What will you do with it, I wonder'... So he had done it, what he had considered doing now that he was back in the past, to take advantage of the situation since he doubted he could obtain it so easily afterwards… And Dumbledore had realized he had nicked it, the old wizard had known that there was a time-travelling Orion interfering with things… It was clear that the old wizard must have suspected him of having a time-turner; after all, he had used it constantly during the year. He had been very careful, but someone like Dumbledore was bound to suspect it, since the old man had known that Grindelwald was alive and under his care. Did the old man suspect that he had used the time-turner to have time to visit Grindelwald, to undergo training? Perhaps…
Dumbledore's gaze snapped back to the present Orion, and he said faintly, "Control it…You're out of control…"
Orion saw his past-self confusedly rounding on Dumbledore, before taking in their surroundings… tendrils of magic were still destroying the ramparts, the Death Eaters were still crouching and casting shields against incoming pieces of volleying stone… and suddenly, his past-self's eyes turned into glowing pits of blackness and everything settled down… his past-self was now forcing his inner magic to relax calmly inside of him and the storm of uncontrolled, flaring dark magic disappeared…
With an inward sigh of relief, Orion slumped against the wall, his legs threatening to buckle under him, and he closed his hands and stopped feeding his past-self with his magic. Now, he felt utterly drained and exhausted, he couldn't move an inch and every single muscle ached… He had overexerted himself and not an ounce of magic was left inside him for him to use… He calmed down his breath and entered a lulling, relaxing trance, knowing that he would need several minutes for his drained magical core to recharge itself with the magic carried in his blood, constantly pulsing in his veins…
"Kill the old man," said his past-self hoarsely, as he leaned on Draco who was wrapping an arm around the boy. "KILL HIM NOW!"
Orion simply observed how Snape's eyes slightly widened and his face paled, before the wizard's expression hardened and darkened, turning harsh and hateful, as the man aimed his wand at Dumbledore.
Dumbledore's gaze flickered around… Was the old man looking for him? Was the old man waiting for him to do something? To help him? But, obviously, he didn't lift a finger and Dumbledore's expression turned grieving and sorrowful, as he focused back on Snape and murmured weakly, "Severus, no… no…"
Snape's face contorted with revulsion and fury, and he spat, "Avada Kedavra!"
And everything repeated itself for Orion, and he didn't do anything to stop it… He was tempted to prevent Bellatrix from harming his past-self, but he knew he couldn't… after all, no one had saved him from that and he knew why… He needed to hear all those things that Dumbledore had said to him… he needed to hear how Dumbledore had realized so much, how Slughorn had ordered the Goblins to send a letter to the old man, in the event of his death… how Dumbledore knew about the Aux and the Spirits… and all the rest… yes, in a way, that night hadn't been a failure because now he had the clues to find out more… so many little, yet vital things that he needed to make sense out of…
Therefore, he simply observed, in absolute silence and stillness, how his past-self jumped forward and shot out a sheet of black ice which protected Dumbledore from Snape's Killing Curse. The Death Eaters yelled angrily, and he did nothing when Bellatrix shrieked 'Traitor!' and casted a nonverbal curse at his past-self's back… and then, his past-self partly turned around, the yellow beam of light struck his left arm and his past-self staggered backwards against Dumbledore… Snape rushed forward, trying to grasp his past-self, but failed, and his past-self and Dumbledore toppled over the ramparts, into the free-fall, out of sight…
"Orion – NO!" shouted Draco, frantically reaching the ramparts' ledge, and seemingly with the intention to jump over.
Orion's eyes widened and he was about to rush forward and grasp his friend –being discovered be damned- but he halted when he saw Snape violently clutching Draco's scruff, pulling him back.
"What are you doing, you imbecile!" snarled Snape, jerking Draco around, a safe distance away from the battlements.
"He fell over!" gasped out Draco, pale-faced and staring at Snape with wide, frantic, silvery eyes. "They… they both… he was injured, he could die – let go off me!"
"And what were you planning to do?" spat Snape snidely. "Jump after him?"
"Yes, I can use my animagus form!" yelled Draco, furiously struggling against Snape's iron-clad clutch. "I can dive after him and get him before he hits the ground-"
"You haven't fully mastered your animagus form," snapped Snape, looking short-tempered and frazzled. "And Orion can take care of himself. He wasn't mortally wounded and he'll surely use his animagus form to save himself before crashing on the ground-"
"Ow, lil' nephew, don't worry," interjected Bellatrix, letting out a cackle of crazed and triumphant laughter as she approached the pair and leaned over the ramparts to squint down at the darkness bellow. "I also hope that the fall doesn't kill the half-blood, since I much prefer to see how the Dark Lord kills the brat!"
Draco jerked away from Snape's clutch and furiously rounded on her, aiming his wand at the witch. "Why did you attack him, Aunt?! He was trying to-"
"He's a traitor!" shrieked Bellatrix madly, darkly scowling at the boy, her lips twisted with disgust and hatred. "We all saw it! The filthy, little half-blood protected Dumbledore-"
"Idiotic witch, he wasn't betraying us," said Snape sharply, with a seething expression on his face.
"He stopped you and Draco from killing Dumbledore," spat Bellatrix, "and he shouldn't have. The Unbreakable Vow he took-"
"Exactly," snarled Snape furiously, narrowing his black eyes at her. "He was bounded by the Unbreakable Vow and he clearly tried to kill Dumbledore, but something prevented him from doing so. It's clear that he was being bound by something else-"
"Like what?!" demanded Bellatrix, bristling and hatefully glaring at the wizard.
Snape glowered at her with a murdering glint in his eyes, but said nothing. Orion was certain that he man had pieced it together by now. Surely the wizard suspected that there had been a Life Debt involved. Nevertheless, what had captured his attention were Draco's words. He hadn't known that his friend had been working on mastering an animagus form. He hadn't even known that Draco had the ability to become an animagus. Though it was obvious that Snape knew, and the wizard had probably been helping Draco with it.
"Enough of this pointless discussion," bit out Alecto commandingly, dusting off her robes from debris and small shards of stone. "The Dark Lord will be the one to determine if Lord Black's actions constitute treason." She rounded on Draco, and added curtly, "And you should be more concerned about yourself than about your friend. The Dark Lord will not be pleased by this mission's outcome."
Draco paled, and he stuttered out, "But I fixed the cabinet! And everything went as planned. You came through it and Dumbledore took the bait and came to the Tower, and then I was about to kill the old man-"
"But you didn't kill Dumbledore," interjected Amycus, taking his sister's side, harshly glaring at Draco. "You obeyed Lord Black when he asked you to let him do it." He let out a nervous, jittery chuckle. "Now we can only hope, for all our sakes, that Dumbledore's squashed body is lying dead on the grounds."
"Dumbledore isn't dead," said Snape flatly, with a closed expression on his face. "If the fall had killed him we would have known by now. We would have heard Fawkes' distraught and mourning cry for his master."
Alecto cursed under her breath, before she squared her shoulders and barked out, "Then we've failed and there's nothing we can do about it. We have to leave-"
"We can search for them!" interjected Draco vehemently. "We cannot leave Orion behind! And if Dumbledore is alive then I have another chance to kill him-"
"No, you had your chance already," bit out Alecto, angrily gazing at him. "One failure is enough. Our only concern now is to get out of Hogwarts, alive. The Dark Lord is expecting us to report soon and he'll be further displeased if one of us gets captured. Obviously, there aren't enough of us to take control of Hogwarts, given the number of Aurors and Order members we've encountered, and who must be, undoubtedly, waiting for us to come down. Our only priority is to escape and apparate to the Dark Lord's Manor as soon as we cross the school's gates, and that's exactly what we'll do. Now, we'll leave this place, ready to encounter the Aurors but we'll waste no time in killing them." She shot all of them a stern glance. "We are fleeing and if one of us doesn't make it, be certain that the Dark Lord will use the Dark Mark on your arm to torture you to insanity before you can blab anything if you're captured."
Orion's eyes grew large, his mind frenziedly working out what those last words meant for Draco, since he hadn't known that Voldemort could use the Dark Mark on his Death Eaters to torture them to such a degree - being able, through it, to wreck apart one of his minion's mind? He had obviously considered that Voldemort would make Draco feel pain through the Mark, but not this. This didn't bode well for Draco, not at all. And once again he was reminded that he didn't know in what condition Draco would be after the night was over. He had saved Draco, he had snatched the boy from underneath Voldemort's nose - he had no doubt about it. But he remembered how mangled the boy's body had looked, how the silvery eyes had rolled upwards, the pupils completely dilated, the face scrunched in agonizing pain, then the expression turning slack and empty… Something lodged in his throat and his chest constricted with frenzied worry… His most important task was to save Draco, it had been his main reason for travelling back through time, and now he realized that he didn't have much time left. There were still two things he had to do before getting to Riddle Manor, and his mind was quickly trying to plan how he would manage it…
"Fenrir," suddenly said Alecto, and Orion's attention focused back on them, seeing how all the Death Eaters were getting ready to hurtle down the staircase which led out from the Astronomy Tower, "it would greatly help us if you changed."
Greyback shot her a feral smirk, nodding, and tucking his wand inside his black pant's pocket. And before Orion's shocked eyes, the man started to transform; limbs cracking, shifting and lengthening, mouth turning into a long snout filled with razor-sharp fangs, long nails extending to claws, silver fur sprouting from the skin... And before he knew it, Greyback had fully transformed into a werewolf; on a non-full-moon night.
Snape and Draco seemed as startled and shocked as he was, though Snape also had a grave, pensive frown on his face –wheels undoubtedly churning inside that sharp mind- and Draco looked quite horrified.
Then everyone seemed to snap into action. The Death Eaters rushed into the staircase, wands aimed and ready, a full-transformed werewolf hurtling and snarling behind them, and Snape was running down the steps, clutching Draco securely by his side. And without another hitch of breath, Orion ran after them, as his mind quickly pondered what he should do next. Saving Draco was his priority, but he knew he still had about fifteen minutes or so before the Death Eaters managed to flee and apparate away. Thus, he had to decide how to best utilize that time.
He was highly tempted to reach Dumbledore and his other-self, to prevent Dumbledore from being rescued and snatched away by Fawkes, to perhaps kill the old man and get the Elder wand…doing it, somehow, without his other-self noticing… or perhaps he could somehow clutch Dumbledore's arm in the instant that Fawkes had apparated them away in a blazing explosion of fire… By clutching Dumbledore's arm, would he also be included in that apparition, or would he be splinched? Should he risk it? If it worked, he would be able to see if Dumbledore had made it out alive, if the Killing Curse had struck him in time or not, and he would be able to take the Elder Wand, since he was ready to duel and kill the old man if he had lived… But, where would he find himself and how would he get back in time to portkey to Riddle Manor to save Draco? He couldn't use the time-turner a second time, it was made so that no one could travel twice back to the same time, so that there would be no further overlappings… Furthermore, if he went after Dumbledore, then he wouldn't have an opportunity to do anything else…
And he knew that he had done something about Greyback… Bellatrix had told him that the man hadn't made it out from Hogwarts and the werewolf hadn't appeared in Riddle Manor. Greyback had disappeared and he knew that he was involved in it… Besides that, there were two other things he could do. Given Dumbledore's muttered words, he had obtained something… Yes, he had to do that, since he doubted he would have a better chance of getting his hands on it. After that night, Hogwarts would be greatly protected and he wouldn't be able to easily break in. On the other hand, according to what Draco had told him, Voldemort's first step to control wizarding England would be to take hold of Hogwarts. And if Voldemort succeeded, then the man would have access to two things, precisely the objects Orion was debating on which to take: Ravenclaw's tiara or Gryffindor's sword.
He hoped he would have the time to take both, but he doubted it. And he had to decide which was more important. Ravenclaw's tiara was still one of Voldemort's original horcruxes, and it would be vastly advantageous for it to be in his hands, in case he ever needed to threaten Voldemort with the destruction of one of his horcruxes. Furthermore, if Voldemort had access to it, would the wizard hide it someplace else? If he ever needed to gather all the horcruxes, to have something to threat Voldemort with, then he should get the tiara, now that he could. It would be much harder to get it later, when Hogwarts was either controlled by Voldemort or heavily protected by Aurors.
On the other hand, he already had a horcrux in his power –his Slytherin wedding ring- and despite what he saw in his visions, he didn't like the idea of starting to gather the rest of the horcruxes for the sole intention of utterly destroying Voldemort. Surely things between Voldemort and him wouldn't wither to such a degree… But they could, he couldn't keep fooling himself… Nevertheless, if worse came to worse, he would surely find a way to get his hands on Ravenclaw's tiara. And at present, it was safe from Dumbledore and other light wizards since it was obvious that no one knew that it was in the Room of Requirements. If Dumbledore had known about the tiara, then the man wouldn't have gone horcrux-hunting to the cave; the tiara would have been destroyed ages ago. Therefore, Dumbledore certainly didn't know about it, nor had he told anyone else.
Therefore, getting Gryffindor's sword should be his priority. It could be used to destroy horcruxes, but he had no need for that –not at present. And if he ever had a reason to do so, a horcrux could also be destroyed with basilisk poison. And even though it was very difficult to find a place which sold it, he could always surreptitiously break into Hogwarts and get to the Chamber of Secrets and ask Orssana to give him some of her poison. Indeed, Gryffindor's sword wasn't that useful to him, but there was a prime reason for him to want it. If it fell into Voldemort's hands, then -given the wizard's fascination for the Founders' heirlooms- it was highly likely that the wizard would turn the sword into a horcrux. And that was definitely something he didn't want to happen.
Indeed, in the minutes he had left, obtaining Gryffindor's sword would be his priority. And if he had the time, then he would get the tiara afterwards. And just when he finally made up his mind, the group of Death Eaters hurtled out from the stairway into the sixth floor corridor, and a fierce battle instantly erupted, and Orion flattened himself against a wall, quickly deciding what to do while he observed.
The Death Eaters were outnumbered even more than before; Minerva McGonagall and a bunch of other teachers had finally joined the Auror and Order forces, surely after insuring that all students were safe in their common rooms. The Carrow siblings were in full-battle mode, back-to-back, while they shot a volley of curses right, left and center, but it was obvious that they weren't trying to kill anyone, just disable in order to create a wedge through which to escape. Bellatrix and Greyback seemed to be the ones more disposed to create as much damage as they were able to, while Snape was dragging Draco with him, running as fast as they could through the tumultuous crowd of fighting wizards and witches.
Though, something was plainly obvious to Orion. The Light's forces, given their numbers, could have immediately dispatched the Death Eaters. Indeed, the Aurors could have killed them before – before they even had the chance to go up the Astronomy Tower. It was clear to him now that they didn't have orders to kill Death Eaters, but to capture them without mortally injuring them. And as had happened before, this gave the Death Eaters an advantage over their enemies.
"Let Snape and the boy through!" roared Shacklebot, as he flung a curse at Bellatrix. "Don't aim at them!"
Orion shook his head as he caught sight of every light wizard and witch obeying. They still thought that Snape was on their side. They probably believed that Snape had snatched Draco and was now trying to kidnap the boy in order to take him to the Order's Headquarters… And he understood why they believed this. When Snape had made him enter his mind to see the memories and explain Dumbledore's plans, the wizard had told him that the old man was planning on taking Draco to the Order – both to protect the boy and surely to get information from him about Voldemort's war-plans. And it was certain that Dumbledore had told Shacklebot and the rest of the Order members about his scheme concerning Draco.
Indeed, Snape and Draco were now reaching the end of the corridor, having safely ran through the crowd of dueling people without a scratch on them. Orion inwardly sighed with relief and flung himself off the wall, ready to proceed with his plans. He still felt exhausted, his body aching, his muscles sore, but he no longer felt magically drained. He had rested and spent enough time without casting and using his magic. Therefore, he could spring back into action. He was about to run down the corridor, to make it to Dumbledore's office with the single-minded purpose of obtaining Gryffindor's sword, when a distressed cry resounded above all other yells.
And for a fraction of a second, he paused as he caught sight of what had happened. A few feet away from him, a silver-furred werewolf was sinking his claws into Bill Weasley's cheek. Large wedges were carved on the young wizard's handsome face, copious blood spurting from the long slashes, as Bill screamed in pain and quickly shot a curse at Greyback. The werewolf momentarily staggered backwards, but then, apparently unscathed, the creature snarled and leaped forward again, claws aimed at Bill's face and fangs directed at the young wizard's throat.
Orion's heart leaped to his throat when another wizard jumped in between them, pushing Bill away from harm's way, shouting furiously – his father. And he didn't think about it twice, and he propelled himself into action. Just when Greyback rounded on Sirius, snapping his jaw inches away from the wizard's throat, Orion slammed himself against the werewolf. With an inward sigh of relief, he saw his father hurtling backwards, and then standing up with a confused expression on his face, before immediately reaching Bill, trying to ascertain the severity of the young wizard's wounds. Meanwhile, Orion had instantly shot a full-body bind at the werewolf, surely having taken the man by surprise, and he swiftly casted a disillusionment charm on him, finally remembering that he had to deal with Greyback first, before going in search of Gryffindor's sword.
The now invisible and bounded werewolf was snarling viciously, trying to free himself. Nevertheless, Orion could see through the disillusionment charm, the werewolf's form shimmering before him, and he wasted no time in flicking his wand at the creature. The bounded werewolf was suspended in mid-air, and Orion stood up, wand still aimed at Greyback, as he quickly ran into the nearest door he could find, the spell he was maintaining on the werewolf forcing the body to follow him. As soon they got inside the empty classroom, Orion closed the door and cancelled the spells on Greyback and then the parsel-invisibility spell he had casted on himself a long while ago.
The silver-furred werewolf instantly jumped to his feet, snarling at him, yet those golden eyes recognized him. It was obvious to Orion that however Greyback had managed to transform into a werewolf during a non-full-moon night, the wizard was still himself and not a mindlessly violent creature like transformed werewolves were supposed to be.
"That was my father you were about to maul, Greyback," spat Orion angrily, narrowing his eyes at the werewolf, wand still aimed at him.
The werewolf growled, taking a quick step forward, and snapped his jaws inches away from Orion's face.
Instinctively, Orion took a step back, but then he instantly dug his wand's tip into the creature's furred neck, and said sharply, "Truly try to bite me and I will not doubt to shoot a Killing Curse at you. I have no wish to be bitten and infected. Now, change back. I need to speak to you."
Greyback didn't move an inch, the golden eyes narrowing suspiciously and furiously at him, and Orion sighed with irritated exasperation and quickly parted his robes to dig a hand into his trouser's pocket. He grasped the tiny earring he had been carrying around ever since obtaining it, and he spread out his palm to show it to the werewolf.
The creature's golden gaze instantly focused on it, and in the bat of an eyelash, Greyback transformed back and swiftly took the tiny, half-moon earring from Orion's hand, intently inspecting it.
"This is Sharpfang's," growled Greyback, his golden eyes snapping upwards to gaze suspiciously at Orion. "Why do you have it-"
"Connolly gave it to me," interrupted Orion promptly, "so that you would know that I'm doing this in his behalf." He pierced the wizard with his eyes, and added dourly, "It seems that they need you back in Lycaon. Your former pack, the werewolves you had sired, want you to be with them. Connolly told me about you and Remus and the whole mate-issue, and I agreed to do something about it – namely, to get you to Lycaon so that you could solve matters between Remus and you." He narrowed his eyes at him, and added sharply, "But make no mistake. I don't like you and I certainly don't trust you. I'm doing this because I know that in the end you're supposed to be with Remus, given that you're his first mate and all that stuff. But if I see or hear that you harm him in any way or that you attempt to steal from him the position of the Alpha of the packs, then I'll kill you. Remus has gone a long way and he's the Alpha now, and damn good at it-"
"I don't need to steal that position from him," growled Greyback, with an angry and possessive glint in his eyes. "I'm an Alpha and Remus is my mate, and as such we'll lead the packs jointly, as mated Alphas have done throughout history. And I'll make sure to make matters perfectly clear to my wayward mate-"
"You do that, but don't you dare hurt him in any way," hissed out Orion, narrowing his eyes at him. "I know what you did to him, that you raped him when he was ten years old-"
"HE'S MY MATE!" snarled Greyback furiously. "I found him and I turned him as any werewolf would have done in my place-"
"I don't give a flying gnat about the paltry excuses you've made up to justify it!" spat Orion incensed, digging his wand's tip deeper into the wizard's neck. "Don't you ever try to force yourself on Remus again! I'm not going to assist you to get to Lycaon just for you to make his life a living hell, as you've evidently always done. And I don't care how much you've suffered without your mate or how much your inner creature influences you when dealing with Remus, you will not act like a brutish mutt in heat – that's no way of ingratiating yourself with Remus. You'll have to change your tactics. Connolly told me how you treated Remus when he went back to you, to spy on you under Dumbledore's orders. You kept forcing him to accept you – you kept raping him even when you knew that he was only there because of Dumbledore and not because he truly wanted you. And the subsequent increase in his hatred towards you should have made it perfectly clear, shouldn't it? He'll never accept you unless you gain his trust and affection, and there's no way you'll succeed in that if you don't control yourself around him!"
"And you speak from personal experience, do you, boy?" snarled Greyback, his golden eyes flashing with fierce anger. "You know nothing about werewolves, how we act with our mates, or how our inner wolf affects and determines our behavior-"
"But I know Remus," interrupted Orion curtly, "and being forceful with him is counterproductive. From the start you've treated him as someone who should submissively accept his role as your mate and you never tried to earn his affection! I bet that you thought he would instinctively accept you as his mate, longing for you, but you forget one thing; he was a child when you bit him and you certainly traumatized him, and no one was there to tell him about mates and werewolves. And then he was brought up like a light wizard, when he went to Hogwarts. He found friends who accepted him, even when he despised himself. And when he lost his friends and went back to you to spy, you gave him more reason to hate you and his werewolf condition by forcing yourself on him – again! Now, he embraces his inner wolf –it's clear for everyone to see- and he's become a great leader but you could wreck it all if you act as you've always done with him. The only way you'll succeed is if you take it slowly."
Greyback narrowed his eyes at him, and growled sneeringly, "Let's hear it, oh wise one, how should I treat him, then?"
"For Merlin's sake, must I spell it out for you?" snapped Orion with exasperation. "Woo him, court him, treat him like a wizard and not as someone who has no other choice but accept to be your mate. Be gentle-"
"Gentle?" interrupted Greyback with a disgusted expression on his face. "I'm not gentle, boy! Werewolves are not-"
"Oh, but you will have to learn to be gentle with him," interjected Orion, nastily smirking at him. "Indeed, you'll have to behave like a tamed werewolf. Surely you can do that, Greyback. How difficult can it be to play nice with your mate? If you need him so desperately, then you'll have to try your best, won't you? You have to redeem yourself in his eyes, you'll have to beg for forgiveness after everything you've done to him. Say it with words, say it with actions, I don't care, just do it. Simply, for once in your life, work to gain his affection, since he'll surely won't accept you until you do so."
He pierced the wizard with his eyes, and added sharply, "And that means that you'll have to take it slow, that you'll have to calmly discuss matters with him, and that you'll have to restrain yourself and never attempt to shag him until he's ready and asks for it himself! If I have the slightest suspicion that you've taken him against his will and that you've hurt him in any other way, I'll find you and I'll kill you. And I'll rejoice because you might be his first mate but I know that once you're dead he'll find another mate. And he or she will surely treat him better than you have so far. This is your one and only chance to do things right. Got it?"
Greyback pierced him with enraged, narrowed eyes, and he snarled, "You dare threaten me-"
"Of course I do," scoffed Orion impatiently. "I couldn't care less about you. I care about Remus and, unfortunately, you're his first mate. That's why I'm doing this. That, and because I know that Lycaon's packs will be more powerful with you as their co-Alpha, and I want my allies to be as strong as they can. Now, let's cut through the crap, we've wasted enough time. If you want to get to Lycaon, and if you want a chance with your mate, you'll have to obey everything I've told you. So, do you agree?"
"Yes," growled Greyback reluctantly, looking as if he was still seething with anger, yet the werewolf said nothing else.
"Good," said Orion, smugly smirking at him as he lowered his wand.
Greyback shot him a lethal glare, and demanded crisply, "How are you going to take me to Lycaon?"
"Give me a second," said Orion absent-mindedly, while he unclasped his necklace from his neck. He quickly freed the Black Heir ring from the chain, pocketing it, and then offered to Greyback the chain with the remaining pendant –which was shaped as a dog, wolf, and stag, huddled together.
"Remus gave me this on Christmas," explained Orion. "It's a portkey to Lycaon. Remus will not be expecting you, so I suggest you find Connolly first and talk to him, before attempting to see Remus." He wryly smiled at the man. "Connolly will surely tell you further how to best approach your mate without making him hate you more."
Greyback yanked the necklace from Orion's hands, and growled under his breath, "I don't need further help to know how to deal with my mate." He pierced him with his eyes, and added sharply, "I'll heed your advice, boy, but only because I want my recalcitrant mate to accept me once and for all, not because I'm submitting to your orders." He narrowed his eyes, and said scathingly, "I dislike you too, and I certainly don't care who you are, and even less that everyone's suddenly calling you 'Lord Black' and rolling over when you say so. I'm doing this for my mate."
Orion rolled his eyes, and snorted, "Point taken. And I expect to have my necklace returned to me. Send it to me by owl to Black Manor the moment you reach Lycaon – I still need that portkey."
He flicked his wand at himself as he hissed the words of the parsel-invisibility spell, before he said as an after-thought, "Oh, and the keyword to activate the portkey is Padfoot."
Greyback nodded, and then a large smirk spread over his curling lips. "So this is how you've been prancing around undetected? What I wonder now is how you're here with me when I saw you toppling over the ledge of the Astronomy Tower…" His smirk suddenly spread wider, and he took a step forward to whisper with smug satisfaction. "Oh, there are two of you, aren't they? I thought I had gotten a whiff of your scent when we were back there fighting-"
"Yeah, yeah, but you better not say a word about this," snapped Orion. "And I'm not about to tell you how I'm doing it, so don't even ask."
He saw how the wizard's nostrils were now flaring and sniffing, though the golden eyes weren't completely focusing at the right spot. Greyback might be able to smell him but he certainly couldn't see through the parsel-invisibility spell.
Orion swiftly opened the door, but then he halted and gazed over his shoulder at the man. "How are you able to transform if it's not a full moon night?"
"A couple of months ago, the Dark Lord finished creating a new potion he had been working on for some time," replied Greyback gruffly, as he pushed through the threshold, knocking Orion to a side. "He's planning on making it accessible to all werewolves on his side, so that we can transform whenever we want and thus battle in our strongest form. He's soon going to offer it to the Alphas of the packs in continental Europe."
Orion grasped the man's arm, his fingers tensing jerkily around the muscled and bare limb, and he hissed out, "Are you sure about this? Through Remus, the other Alphas accepted to support me. The werewolves are my allies, not Voldemort's."
"Well, then it seems that the Dark Lord is trying to steal your allies away from you, doesn't it?" sneered Greyback maliciously. Then he growled, his tone of voice gruff and reluctant, "Fear not, I'm sure Remus will not abandon your side, no matter what the Dark Lord offers. My mate seems to be blindly loyal to you. He seems to feel an inexplicable attachment and fondness for you – why, I don't know. You've certainly always been an arrogant, disrespectful, nosy, little brat. And if it wouldn't cause grief to my mate, I would gladly kill you and take great pleasure in it. Or at least bite you, so that you're equally loyal to my packs, as they apparently are to you."
And with that, the wizard swiftly transformed back into a werewolf and pelted down the corridor. Orion stared at him, seething with anger at Voldemort's underhanded machinations, but he soon casted it to a side for later perusal when he saw that the corridor was now empty. And he shot after Greyback, the sounds of a distant battle soon reaching his ears. It was obvious that the fray had moved closer to Hogwart's entrance, as the Death Eaters made their escape.
With the silver-furred werewolf running a few feet ahead of him, Orion rushed down staircases and corridors, also aiming to reach the main hall, since he had to go through there in order to then take another stairway to reach Dumbledore's office. Finally, both of them took a turn and entered the main hall, where a full battle was taking place.
Orion glanced at the werewolf by his side, and warned threateningly, "Don't attack my father again, Greyback." He grimaced, and added wryly, "Don't attack Bill Weasley either, since it seems that my father is bent on protecting him."
The werewolf snarled, and jumped forward into the fight, and Orion didn't quite know if the man would do as he had said. Nevertheless, he had other things to attend to, so he started to swiftly make his way around the battle, to reach the staircase which would most quickly lead him to Dumbledore's office. Suddenly, he paused when he caught sight of someone attempting to surreptitiously leave the hallway and trudge up along a staircase.
It was Luna, and suddenly, when a ricocheting spell careened towards her, Orion flicked his wand at her, his heart beating fast in alarm. Thankfully, the shield charm glowed above her head just in time. And Luna merely blinked upwards at the shimmering sheet of silver light which had saved her. Her expression was one of curious acceptance and she smiled absent-mindedly, before she quickly took several steps up and disappeared from sight. It was clear to him that she had gone to investigate the battle, surely looking for him, and that she was now making her way to Gryffindor Tower, to see if she would find him. It was also clear to him, that she had thought that the nargles or some such non-existent creature had just saved her from the curse that would have otherwise obliterated her. Or perhaps she had realized the truth… even for a Ravenclaw, the girl was amazingly perceptive with the most perplexing things…
He shook his head, and took a second to gauge the battle before him. Greyback, in his werewolf form, was now leaping at Moody –thankfully, it seemed that he would leave his father and Bill Weasley alone. The rest of the light wizards were huddled along the front oak doors, 'Slughorn' included, who was obviously waiting to reveal his true allegiances, and they were forming a barrier to prevent the Death Eaters from escaping. Snape had Draco flattened against a wall, doing nothing but casting protective shields around them, and otherwise not involving himself in the fray. But it was obvious that the moment Snape fled from the castle, dragging Draco with him, and following the Death Eaters out instead of taking Draco to wherever the Order's Headquarters was located, the Aurors would know that Snape had betrayed them. And, as he already knew, Cedric and others would try to stop Snape and Draco from escaping. But for now, the Aurors still believed that Snape was on their side, since no one was attacking the pair. Meanwhile, the rest of the Death Eaters were trying to blast away all the light wizards from the school's front doors, in order to rush outside as soon as possible.
Seeing that, Orion's heart lodged in his throat and he quickly checked his wristwatch - and paled. He had wasted too much time in talking to Greyback, giving relationship advice of all ridiculous things! Who was he to give relationship advice to begin with, his own 'love life' was pretty messed up and chaotic, for starters. What had he been thinking?! Well, in Remus' wellbeing, that's what. But, obviously, but those wasted minutes meant that he didn't have a second to spare.
His other self was surely outside, still listening to what Dumbledore had to say. But he remembered clearly the wail-like sound that had reverberated through the grounds, and seeing the castle's walls shaking, before Dumbledore had muttered about 'it being out of his grasp'… And that would surely happen in a few more minutes, since after that, they had talked for a bit longer and he had finally attempted to accio the Elder Wand... just when the school's front doors had been blasted open, and the Carrows had rushed out, followed by Bellatrix, and then Snape and Draco, with Cedric and others giving them chase… And Greyback had surely stayed behind, dueling with Moody for a bit, before using the pendant to portkey away, probably seconds before his other-self shot the Killing Curse at Dumbledore, since Moody had said that he had been fighting against Greyback at that time, and that he had seen Dumbledore and him through the school's walls …
Therefore… Orion's heartbeat accelerated… Therefore, that meant he had just minutes left to get his hands on Gryffindor's sword… He didn't take a second hitch of breath, and he swiftly transformed into Blackwing, not sparing a second glance at the battle before him. And he soared up, and flew with every ounce of energy he had left… Corridors and staircases flashed by, and he believed that he had never flown as quickly or frantically in all his life… He simply batted his wings as fast and continuously as he could, swerving, diving, and twisting, and in a few moments, he finally reached the stone gargoyle.
He swiftly transformed back to himself, and snapped out the same password he had previously used hours ago. The gargoyle shifted to a side, revealing the entrance to the spiraling staircase, and Orion rushed up and instantly flicked his wand at the office's door, blasting it open. He hurtled himself forward, and the moment he stepped inside he flicked his wand and froze all the portraits in their frames – no former Headmaster or Headmistress would even know what had hit them. Suddenly, he heard Fawkes squawking, but he didn't spare the bird a second glance. He knew that he could not prevent Fawkes from apparating Dumbledore away, because he had no way of killing the magical creature. Even if he shot a Killing Curse at him, Fawkes would simply be reborn from his ashes.
Though, it was curious that the Phoenix was simply intently eyeing him, as he rushed before the glass case which held Gryffindor's sword. Since he was now aiming his wand at the case, surely his intentions were clear to Fawkes, but apparently the bird didn't feel inclined to do anything about it… There were few things that he knew about a phoenix who agreed to become a wizard's familiar, and one of those was that the magical creature could communicate mind-to-mind with the wizard or witch he accepted to be bounded to… Therefore, Dumbledore had to know that he was there, and since Fawkes was doing nothing to stop him, it could only mean that Dumbledore wanted him to get the sword…
Orion gritted his teeth together in anger. It didn't matter. Whatever Dumbledore's schemes were, whatever the wizard hoped he would use the sword for in the future – which was pretty obvious, to destroy the damned horcruxes!- he was now going to get the sword, and he didn't need to be surreptitious about it.
Therefore, given his urgency, he simply slapped a palm on the stone wall in which the glass case was embedded, and he forced his dark magic to rush out, violently, urgently, and certainly without any worries about the damage it could cause and the evidence that would be left behind. He didn't have time to do things covertly, and Dumbledore already knew, after all. Immediately, his dark magic flew outwards, obeying his orders as he willed it to crack the stones surrounding the glass case. A strepitous sound crashed in his ears, as the stone walls shook and cracked, pieces falling to the floor, and in the next second, the glass panes of the embedded case fractured and splintered, and then shards exploded outwards.
Orion didn't even wince when some sunk into his face, he simply keep pouring out his dark magic. Abruptly, a wail-like, painfully loud siren pierced the silence and the walls violently shook, as the glass case was finally blasted apart, without any stone wall left to support it. Now, that part of the office was wrecked open, and Orion could see the black skies and the darkened grounds bellow.
There was a clinking sound, and his gaze snapped down and landed on the sword that had clashed to the ground. He instantly crouched down and swiftly grasped it in his hands. Suddenly, Fawkes squawked, and Orion shot him a glance over his shoulder. The bird was piercingly staring at him, flapping his fiery wings, but the creature did nothing else. Then, he finally realized something; Fawkes was staring right at him – the creature could see through his parsel-invisibility spell.
Orion darkly glared at the bird. He was certainly starting to deeply dislike Fawkes, but not phoenixes in general, of course. He always felt a deep attachment towards his phoenix patronus, after all. But Fawkes was another matter entirely. The damned bird was loyal to Dumbledore and had possibly saved the old coot from the Killing Curse, and even probably given the old man his tears to annul the effects of the Tormentis Memoratum poison which would have otherwise killed the wizard, if the Avada Kedavra hadn't.
Wasting no more time, he flicked his wand at the sword – but nothing happened. Orion blinked. He had shot at it a nonverbal shrinking charm, but the sword hadn't been affected. Grumbling under his breath, he plucked out his shrunk trunk from his pocket, laid it on the floor, and flicked his wand at it. The moment it reversed to its original size, he yanked the lid open and started to place the sword inside; he would then shrink the trunk and be done with it. Surely the sword would shrink as well, once inside, since all the other stuff always accommodated in size when lying inside a recipient which was shrunk. But, to his great irritation, the sword was too long, it didn't fit. He tried every angle and position he could think of, yet, it was finally evident that the sword wouldn't fit. Next, he proceeded to enlarge the trunk and try again, but, inexplicably, every time he tried to force the sword inside, it just wouldn't budge.
Orion cursed under his breath, exasperated and irritated beyond measure. Who had been the idiot who had spelled the sword so that it couldn't be packed?! Well, that explained why Dumbledore had kept it magically suspended inside a glass case, instead of shoving it inside a large desk drawer or the like… He spent several minutes casting spell after spell at the sword, trying to find out how to cancel the charm on it.
Suddenly, Fawkes loudly squawked and Orion glanced up to see the bird encompassed in a ball of fire, and in the next second, it was gone. Orion's jaw clenched – the damned creature had just been summoned by Dumbledore, there wasn't any doubt about it, and the bird was surely now taking the old man away in a blazing explosion of fire, the Elder Wand included.
He gritted his teeth together, and glanced at the sword in his hand, fleetingly feeling a modicum of despair. He couldn't go around holding the sword, it would be highly inconvenient since he still had to get to Riddle Manor and take Draco away. On the other hand, he couldn't leave the sword here, nor did he have the time to find a proper hiding place for it. No, he had to take it with him… Yet, it couldn't be shrunk, forced into the trunk, or otherwise transformed into something else. But surely Gryffindor himself hadn't strut around always with the sword in hand, without being able to carry it in some other way…
Orion narrowed his eyes at the irritating sword, gauging it for a second, and finally, he tried a measure of last resort. He briefly concentrated, picturing the item in his mind, and then flicked his wand, conjuring it. Immediately, a long, leather scabbard popped into existence in his hand; it was simple, just with a long strap that could be looped across his chest, leaving the sheath at his back. Holding in a breath, he angled the sword's tip to the scabbard's opening, and then pushed it inside… and it slid in without a glitch.
He let out an exhalation of breath, finished sheathing the sword, covered its handle with the scabbard's flap, and casted a spell, tying and bounding sword to sheath. He didn't even try to make the sword invisible, he doubted it would work, but he didn't need to since the scabbard was now utterly covering the sword. So he simply flicked his wand at it and hissed out the parsel-invisibility spell, and the scabbard disappeared from his sight, leaving nothing of the sword to be seen.
Finally, he looped the invisible strap across his chest, and felt the heavy weight of the sword on his back. It would still inconvenience him, restricting his movements, but he could come up with no better solution, and he definitely didn't have the time to keep dawdling with it. Orion glanced at his open trunk, and paused pensively. Quickly making up his mind, he brought up the Invisibility Cloak from its depth and stuck it in the largest pocket of his robes, before he flicked his wand, shrunk the trunk, and pocketed it as well.
His gaze scanned his surroundings, making sure he didn't leave anything behind, and then he aimed his wand forward, and said hastily, "Vanquio meuprintus!"
A mantle of magic swept down the office, erasing any trace of the use of his magic, and that was the only measure he would take to disguise that he had been there. The wall where the glass case had once been was utterly destroyed, part of the office opened to the outside, but he certainly had no reason, inclination, or time to repair it. Let the Aurors wonder what had happened, they could suspect, but they wouldn't have evidence to acclaim that it had been him, anyway.
At last, Orion checked his wristwatch for what seemed the umpteenth time during that night, and he realized that the Death Eaters must have apparated to Riddle Manor by now. Suddenly, just when he was considering to take a chance and attempt to get Ravenclaw's tiara, a rushing of feet and alarmed voices echoed and came through the blasted door of Dumbledore's office, and he could discern the commanding voice which was barking out orders – Scrimgeour's. Merlin, had he taken that long? The Minister was already there, making his way up the spiraling staircase, with a large entourage of Aurors, by the sound of it. Any ideas of getting the tiara vanished from his mind, and he rushed to ledge of what was left of the office's floor. And without thinking about it twice, he jumped into the abyss, just when he heard Scrimgeour's appalled yell – no doubt regarding the destruction of what had once been the office of Hogwarts' ruling headmaster, room in the highest tower of the school, which now precariously teetered and swayed on the castle's foundations.
In the next second, Orion transformed into Firebreath. But, abruptly, all breath left his lungs and he was momentarily choked as the scabbard's strap dug into his now larger and scaled chest. He should have known that Gryffindor's sword wouldn't go along his animagus transformation, as the rest of his clothes and things he had with him did. Nevertheless, the scabbard magically bounded to the sword seemed to hold, and even if he had difficulty breathing, he kept soaring into the skies, only diving down when he passed Hogwarts' gates.
The instant his clawed paws touched ground, he transformed back, checked that everything still remained invisible, himself included, and he casted a muting charm on his shoes and took out the Invisibility Cloak. Once done, he plucked out the Black Heir ring from his pocket and tapped it with his wand's tip. Afterwards, he swiftly jerked his wrist, making his wand shoot up underneath his sleeve and tuck itself safely inside the wand-holster strapped around his forearm.
In the bat of an eyelash, the portkey activated and he was thrown into a whirlwind of rushing colors, the pressure mounting uncomfortably around his exhausted, aching body. He sincerely didn't think he had much energy left inside him. It had been the longest and most complex day of his life, always worrying about making a mistake which could irrevocably alter the timeline, with unknown yet surely devastating consequences… He just wanted to rescue Draco, get the hell out, and sleep… yes, he wanted to sleep forever, if he could…
But then, his feet silently landed on hard, stone floors, and Orion armed himself with valor, determination, and the last ounce of energy left in him, and he glanced around his new, dimly lit surroundings.
